A judge denied pre-trial release to a mother and her juvenile son after they allegedly opened fire on a car, killing an innocent woman on her way home from work in Waukegan, in a case of mistaken identity.
The Waukegan Police Department and Waukegan Fire Department responded around 1:10 a.m. on September 17 to the area of Elmwood Avenue and Melrose Avenue in Waukegan for a report of a shooting.
Officers arrived and found a woman shot inside a black Toyota Corolla, Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Nicholas Shepherd said.
Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek identified the victim as Yessenia Novoa-Poveda, 48, of Waukegan.
Novoa-Poveda was transported by ambulance to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan.
She was pronounced dead in the emergency room after arriving at the hospital, Banek said.
Shepherd said two other people were in the car with Novoa-Poveda at the time of the shooting and were uninjured.
The three had been carpooling home together from work, Shepherd said.
An autopsy was conducted on Novoa-Poveda and Banek said the results showed that Novoa-Poveda died from a gunshot wound to the back.
Court records show Johnathan D. White, 20, of Zion; Torsheill Hibbler, 37, of Round Lake Beach; and Tyrone Hoy, 17, of Round Lake Beach, were charged on September 25 with three counts of first-degree murder.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeffrey Facklam said a home across the street from the shooting captured the incident. The three carpooling had stopped at the intersection to drop off one of the occupants who lives there.
Shepherd said the video surveillance showed a passenger, later identified as White, exit a black Ford Crown Victoria with white doors and open fire on the Toyota Corolla when the Toyota had stopped.
Two other occupants of the Ford, identified as Hibbler and Hoy, also began opening fire on the Toyota from inside the Ford, Shepherd said.
Facklam said the Ford was seen minutes later at a business with the occupants exiting the car.
The Ford was registered to Hibbler. Police were familiar with her and Hoy from a separate investigation where Hoy, who is Hibbler’s son, was shot at a party in August.
Shepherd said that investigators believe the suspects misidentified the car Novoa-Poveda was inside.
Hoy believed it was the same car that shot at him in August and Hoy, White and Hibbler were seeking retaliation for that shooting when they killed Novoa-Poveda, Shepherd said.
Shepherd called Novoa-Poveda an “innocent woman” who was killed in the middle of a residential street while on the way home from work.
Facklam said Hoy and Hibbler gave two names to police investigators who they believed were possibly responsible for the August shooting where Hoy was shot at the party.
One of those subjects lives around the corner from where the murder occurred, Facklam said. The Ford was seen just minutes before the murder shining a spotlight on the house where the person lives from an alley.
The suspects incorrectly believed the vehicle that contained the victim was associated with one of the two people who shot Hoy in August, Facklam said.
Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Scott Chastain said investigators soon after the homicide recovered the 2009 Ford Crown Victoria at Hibbler’s home in the 1000 block of Red Oak Circle in Round Lake Beach.
Detectives set up surveillance and executed search warrants for the vehicle, residence and garage. The Ford had bullet holes in it.
Detectives also located a semi-automatic handgun and a large amount of drugs — 714 grams of substances that field tested positive for cocaine.
After White’s arrest in Chicago, he admitted his involvement in the murder and identified himself in surveillance photos, Shepherd said.
An obituary for Novoa-Poveda said she enjoyed being home with her family and was always attentive to their care.
She migrated to Waukegan just months prior to her death with the dream of a better future for her son, her obituary said.
During a detention hearing last week for White, Shepherd argued that White committed a pre-meditated murder riding around with his friends, his friend’s mother and other armed individuals “apparently looking to kill someone” out of revenge.
“There is no greater threat to the community than the taking of an innocent human life. And here the defendant did so without remorse,” Shepherd said.
The prosecutor said that the saddest part of the case was that Novoa-Poveda was in the “wrong place at the wrong time.”
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted a petition to detain White pending trial following a detention hearing on October 22.
“This shooting is a horrific act of violence that ended a life of an innocent person, who had no known connections to the offenders. The offenders open fired on a vehicle with multiple occupants inside,” Chastain said.
“It’s a miracle that the other two occupants were not struck with the numerous rounds that were fired,” he added.
Arrest warrants were issued following charges being filed on September 25 and White was the first arrested. He was taken into custody on October 9 in the 10000 block of Wallace in Chicago, Chastain said.
The Waukegan Police Department announced last week they had captured Hibbler and Hoy at an apartment in the 6000 block of Derby Drive in Gurnee on October 28.
Chastain said detectives following up on leads led them to the apartment where they believed the mother and son were hiding out.
Contact was made with an apartment resident who helped coordinate the surrender of Hibbler and Hoy.
Both were taken into custody without incident. Chastain said a search warrant was executed on the apartment, which led to the recovery of additional evidence in the case.
In addition to the murder charges, Hibbler was also charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver between 400-900 grams and unlawful possession of a controlled substance between 400-900 grams.
Hoy, who was charged as an adult, and Hibbler appeared for detention hearings on Tuesday afternoon.
Facklam said during the hearing that Hoy has a prior felony unlawful use of a weapon conviction.
Attorney Gregory Nikitas, who is representing Hoy, argued for the juvenile’s pre-trial release and said he could reside with his grandmother.
Attorney Robert T. Ritacca, who is representing Hibbler, argued that prosecutors never alleged his client fired a weapon.
“The reason she is here is because she is a close relative to somebody the State believes that they can put in that car. Upon reviewing the videos tendered, it is 100% evident that this female is not the shooter,” Ritacca said.
Judge Nerheim granted petitions to detain Hoy and Hibbler following their detention hearings.
Nerheim called the murder premeditated and said it appeared that Hoy and his friends and family attempted to “take matters into their own hands” in seeking vengeance.
Hoy, Hibbler and White were indicted on the charges by a Lake County grand jury on Wednesday.
They are scheduled to appear for arraignment hearings on November 14.