By J. Coyden Palmer, Chicago Crusader
With the charging Tuesday of Dwright Doty, the alleged executioner of little Tyshawn Lee last November, law enforcement officials are directing their attention to the remaining suspect Kevin Edwards. The Chicago Police Department’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit is now working with the F.B.I. in order to determine the location of Edwards, said a top police official at a press conference March 8 at police headquarters.
Edwards’ whereabouts are unknown at this time but police believe he may have fled the area. Chief of Detectives Gene Roy encouraged Edwards to turn himself in because law enforcement from around the country are looking for him.
“Mr. Edwards is the subject of an arrest warrant,” Roy said. “We are working with the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service to locate him. We’re working on a number of leads.”
State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez laid out the grisly details of Lee’s murder. She said Doty, along with Edwards and Corey Morgan stalked Lee’s family members for days leading up to the Nov. 2nd murder that shocked the city. Alvarez said Doty and Morgan did a stakeout outside of Lee’s grandmother’s house and were initially planning to kill her and other members of the nine year-olds’ family.
“Shortly after the shooting of his brother, Corey Morgan stated that since his brother was killed and mother shot, he was going to kill grandmas, mothers and children,” according to Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez. “Morgan, Doty and other Black P Stone members began going out daily armed with guns looking to retaliate. At one point Doty set up a surveillance of Lee’s grandmother so he could kill her in order to draw out rival gang members. He also stated his original plan was to torture this child by kidnapping and cutting off his fingers and his ears.”
The motive for the killing was revenge for the slaying of Tracey Morgan and shooting of his mother, according to investigators. The Oct. 13 shooting took place after Morgan had attended a gang call in meeting facilitated by the Chicago Police Department in which at-risk gang members are offered social services and other tools to leave the street life. Morgan called his mother to pick him up after the meeting had concluded. At some point, police believe the vehicle they were in was followed and targeted for attack.
In addition to the murder charges against Lee, Doty was also charged with a second murder in the case of innocent bystander Brianna Jenkins. The former Stagg High School cheerleader was sitting in a car with Dashari Bowen in the 2100 block of west 69th Street on Oct. 18 when Doty allegedly approached the vehicle and began firing inside at Bowen, mistakenly believing he was a member of a rival gang.
“Doty later stated he did not even know who was in the car, but when he drove by the car he saw dreadlocks and believed it was a rival gang member,” according to Alvarez. “After killing Brianna and shooting Deshari he stated that he reloaded the gun and carried it around.”
Doty was later arrested by Chicago Police while in possession of multiple guns. Those guns were later tested and linked to the killings of Jenkins and Lee. Police say the victims were killed with two different guns, both of which were found in Doty’s possession. Police would not say how they got statements from Doty or Morgan. But several news reports say a Cook County jailhouse informant wore a wire and recorded the statements.
Pierre Stokes, Lee’s father, is a leader with a rival gang. Police say after initially being uncooperative in the investigation, he did provide detectives with some statements. However they would not say if Stokes is a suspect in the shooting of Morgan and his mother. The Crusader has previously documented Stokes’ gang involvement and is still in possession of a video taken from Stokes’ social media page in which he and others are seen beating up a member of a rival gang.
Police Superintendent Escalante said there are multiple ongoing investigations into other crimes that took place leading up to Lee’s murder. One of those investigations is into the Aug. 5th murder of Adarius Hayes, which according to neighborhood sources was the genesis of the start in a deadly feud between two rival gangs, the Big Bang Gang and the Killa P Wards. Hayes, 21, was shot to death in a vehicle in the 7500 block of South Damen. The murders of Morgan and Jenkins culminated with the killing of Lee.
Supt. Escalante said since the Lee case, his department has flooded the Auburn/Gresham community with resources to quell the violence. He said he is continuing the mission of former Supt. Garry McCarthy who vowed to “destroy” both gangs.
