Prosecutors: Gang Members Executed 9 Year Old as Pay Back

An ongoing feud between two rival gangs in Chicago – the Killa Ward faction of the Gangster Disciples and the Bang Gang/Terror Dome faction of the Black P Stones gang, has resulted in the murder of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee in an alleged revenge shooting against the boy’s father – a member of the Killa Ward faction.

During opening statements, prosecutors said that Lee was in his school uniform when he was approached and befriended by three men in the South Side of Chicago in November 2015. The three men were identified as Corey Morgan, Kevin Edwards and Dwight Doty.

A promised juice box by Dwight Doty had lured the young boy into an alleyway, where the man took out a .40-caliber handgun and shot Lee, Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Margaret Hillmann said, while Morgan and Edwards kept watch from a black SUV.

Morgan and Doty are having two separate trials, which began on Tuesday. The two gang members are blaming each other for the murder, while Edwards, who prosecutors say was the getaway driver, plead guilty to first-degree murder in exchange for a 25-year prison sentence earlier this month. No testimony against Morgan and Doty is expected from Edwards.

The 9-year-old boy’s father, Pierre Stokes, belonging to the Killa Ward faction – a rival gang, had reportedly been involved in a gang shooting in October 2015, which resulted in the death of Morgan’s brother and wounded his mother.

Hillmann said Morgan was heard making warnings of revenge against “grandmas, mamas, kids and all,” adding motive, although his attorney, Thomas Breen, attempted distancing his client from the crime in opening statements.

“That execution of that 9-year-old boy has to come from one singularly evil person,” he told jurors without naming Doty. “Not from a plan. His killer did so of his own volition and for his own reason. Not at the best or help of Corey Morgan,” Breen added.

The assistant public defender representing Doty had pointed out the aforementioned motive Morgan had for revenge and that the firearm used for the murder was purchased and organized by the Morgan family.

Despite that, prosecutors say that Dwight Doty is ultimately the one who lured the fourth-grader and shot him, citing evidence that his DNA was found on the basketball laying next to Lee’s body.

Months after the child’s death, Pierre Stokes, Lee’s father, had allegedly sought revenge for his son’s murder by shooting three people, including Morgan’s girlfriend. He’s currently being held without bail.