Jury Convicts Man Of Killing 5 In 2008
CHICAGO (STWM) -- A Cook County jury Thursday night convicted a man of murdering five people during a robbery on the South Side six years ago.
Jurors deliberated about an hour before returning their guilty verdict.
Torolan Williams, 28, killed the victims with the help of his cohort Michael King on April 23, 2008, prosecutors said.
Earlier this week, Williams' high school friend and accomplice testified against him.
Days after the slayings Williams insisted that King killed all five victims inside the house, in the 7600 block of South Rhodes Avenue, Arthur Brown said.
But following a Bible study session in the jail in 2009, Williams pulled Brown aside near a stairwell and allegedly admitted he killed two people in the spree.
"He [Williams] said he shot Don P. [Donovan Richardson] while he was on the couch. He said there was a girl who wouldn't stop screaming, so he turned around and shot her," Brown said.
Richardson, 24, and his friends, Anthony Scales Jr., 26, Reginald Walker, 23, Whitney Flowers, 22, and Lakesha Doss, 17, were discovered shot in the head following the robbery.
Brown, 31, testified that he was under the impression that he was going to buy high-quality "Kush" or marijuana when he and a pal pulled up near the Rhodes address on the evening of April 22, 2008.
But Brown said Williams told him that he had a "sweet lick" — a phrase meaning easy robbery — and requested that he "stick around" to assist.
Brown said he waited in an alley when he saw King and Williams emerge with four flat screen televisions and two duffel bags.
Brown said he helped the pair pack the "loot" in King's Cadillac and got in the back seat as King and Williams "giggled."
"They said, 'You crazy.' 'No, 'You crazy,'" Brown said.
Brown told Assistant State's Attorney Robert Heilingoetter that he didn't know anyone had been gunned down until he watched the news the next day.
During cross examination, Brown admitted to Assistant Public Defender Steven Stach that he lied to detectives about being at the scene of the murders killings until they showed him the slain victims' watches and earrings that he had pawned.
Although Brown never pulled the trigger, he said, "I was in the wrong."
The former UPS supervisor later said, "I wanted to come out and tell the truth."
Brown is expected to be sentenced to 24 years in prison in exchange for his testimony against Williams and King.
King, 33, is awaiting trial.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
