A grand jury has indicted two gunmen who prosecutors say opened fire, killing a man and a woman, described as “random and innocent victims,” as they walked down the sidewalk in Waukegan.
Ishawn Z. Pitts, 19, of North Chicago, was initially charged with two counts of first-degree murder and Tylo Eddins, 18, of Killeen, Texas, was charged with six counts of first-degree murder.
A Lake County grand jury on Wednesday returned indictments charging Pitts with four additional counts of first-degree murder and Eddins with six total counts of first-degree murder.
Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Scott Chastain said Eddins on February 24 allegedly entered an Uber driver’s vehicle near an expressway ramp in Chicago while pretending to be the designated pickup.
Eddins displayed a handgun and stole the car, a silver 2020 Kia Sorrento SUV, from the Uber driver, Chastain said.
The Kia was driven to Waukegan where an armed robbery occurred in the 500 block of South Genesee Street.
Eddins, wearing a mask, approached a victim at gunpoint and robbed him of $20, Chastain said.
Eddins reportedly returned to the stolen Kia and left the area.
Eddins drove the stolen vehicle to his residence in Waukegan and left after picking up Pitts, Chastain said.
They drove through the 400 block of Powell Avenue in Waukegan where they spotted two people, later identified as Rodrigo Olivan, 28, of Waukegan, and Ana Gil, 24, of Waukegan, who were walking on the sidewalk in front of a home.
Evidence showed Eddins fired shots at both Olivan and Gil, Chastain said.
Eddins then told Pitts to shoot them and “finish them off,” Chastain said. Pitts allegedly fired numerous shots at the two victims.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeffrey Facklam said approximately 22 shots were fired. 12 were fired followed by a brief pause before 10 more shots were fired.
Gil was able to call 911 despite being shot nine times. She was transported to the hospital and died days later.
Olivan was pronounced dead at the scene after also being shot multiple times.
A surveillance video, obtained by Lake and McHenry County Scanner, showed the victims walking on the sidewalk past a home.
Just after the two victims were outside of the video frame, the stolen Kia was seen speeding past before over 20 shots were fired. A woman could be heard screaming in the background.
Chastain said the shooting occurred “for no reason” and was a “senseless shooting” of the two victims who had no ties to the suspects or ties to any criminal activity. “This case is an absolute travesty,” Chastain added.
During a detention hearing, Facklam also reaffirmed that the two victims were “completely random individuals” that the two suspects encountered.
“There seems to be no connection between the victims and this defendant. It was two completely random and innocent people walking down the street who were come upon by the car… who were shot… for absolutely no reason,” Facklam told a judge.
“It is cold, it is calculating, it is random, it is intentional,” Facklam added.
After the shooting, the suspects fled northbound in the Kia and traveled to Zion where it crashed into a fence.
Multiple occupants fled the vehicle and a witness reported one of them dropped a firearm as they ran but picked it back up, Facklam said.
Detectives were able to link the crash to the homicide and began investigating and gathering evidence.
Chastain said a search warrant and area search were conducted in Zion on February 25, which led to the recovery of evidence related to the homicides and carjacking.
Pitts had an active outstanding warrant for aggravated robbery out of Zion and Waukegan police detectives took him into custody on February 29. A grand jury this week upgraded the charges in that case to armed robbery.
He was transported to the Waukegan Police Department and interviewed. Pitts later confessed to shooting the two victims, Chastain said.
Pitts was also able to corroborate the details of the investigation to detectives, Chastain said.
Eddins fled Waukegan shortly after the homicides but was arrested last month in Killeen, Texas on an unrelated burglary case and other crimes in Texas.
Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Eddins for the murder charges.
He remains held in the Bell County, Texas Jail while awaiting extradition to Illinois.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Pitts following his arrest, arguing that he poses a significant threat to the community.
Lake County Judge D. Christopher Lombardo granted prosecutors’ petition during a detention hearing.
Eddins and Pitts face a mandatory sentence of life in prison if convicted of the charges against them.