1 guilty of murdering 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee, 2nd jury still deliberating
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Dwright Boone-Doty was found guilty of first degree murder by a jury Thursday in the shooting death of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee. The jury for the second defendant, Corey Morgan, is still deliberating.
Boone-Doty's jury deliberated for only two hours before reaching their verdict. Morgan's jury also deliberated for several hours Thursday before stopping for the night and being sent home. They will resume their deliberations Friday morning.
"While we await the second verdict, we are pleased with the first outcome of this case, knowing that the individual responsible for this heinous, retaliatory attack on a young boy will be held accountable. We also thank the members of the jury for their thoughtful deliberation and service," Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx said in a statement.
Lee was lured into an alley and fatally shot in November 2015 near Dawes Park in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood
Prosecutors said that Boone-Doty shot the boy at close range, while Morgan watched in a nearby getaway car with a third man who has already pleaded guilty.
During closing arguments, prosecutors said Tyshawn went to the park with his basketball to take advantage of the beautiful fall day.
They said Boone-Doty and Morgan had their own plan to lure the child away from the park and shoot him in the head.
Prosecutors pointed out that GPS data tied the getaway car used in the killing to Dawes Park on the South Side, which is near the murder scene.
Prosecutors claimed that Boone-Doty and Morgan targeted Tyshawn as part of an escalating gang feud. They allegedly believed a gang linked to the boy's father was responsible for killing Morgan's brother a few weeks earlier and wounding his mother, according to prosecutors.
Morgan and Boone-Doty are standing trial together with two separate juries and two sets of attorneys. Prosecutors presented one case against both defendants.
Jurors heard 12 days of testimony from eyewitnesses who saw the men playing basketball with Tyshawn in Dawes Park. Prosecutors also presented DNA evidence and in Boone-Doty's case, a confession made to another inmate who was wearing a wire at the Cook County Jail.
Morgan's attorneys presented evidence that police improperly presented some of the photo lineups to eyewitnesses.
