Prosecutors want to implicate DuPage County suspect in 4 slayings

In a rare legal move, DuPage County prosecutors hope to debunk a reputed gang member's defense that he was “merely present” for a 1999 murder in Wheaton by implicating him in four other slayings.

The state's attorney's office this week filed a motion seeking to present evidence linking Raymond Winters, 43, to four gang-related murders in Cook County dating back 17 years.

Winters remains charged in just one murder, that of 32-year-old Aldis Tucker on July 28, 1999.

But Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Ruggiero said raising the specter of the prior murders would demonstrate to jurors that Winters played a role in similarly styled killings before and knew what was in store for Tucker the night he was slain.

“The facts of these murders demonstrate that the defendant had prior knowledge as to what was intended to happen,” Ruggiero said. “It demonstrates his intent to aid and assist. It shows he was not ‘merely present.'”

Winters, a felon formerly of Chicago, stood trial last month on murder charges in Tucker's death. But the case ended in a mistrial after jurors deliberated two days without reaching a verdict.

At trial, prosecutors argued Winters shot Tucker, a reputed drug dealer, in the left eye during a robbery outside Tucker's home in Wheaton.

Among the evidence presented was a palm print found on a vehicle at the scene, which matched Winters. Jurors also heard from a convicted murderer who served prison time with Winters and claimed to have heard him confess. Prosecutors highlighted grand jury testimony of Menard McAfee, a reputed gang member who said he was with Winters the night of Tucker's murder. However, he recanted that testimony during the trial.

Assistant Public Defender Jaime Escuder, who represents Winters, said he intends to object to the prosecution's request to tie in the four Cook County murders at a court appearance in front of Judge George Bakalis later this month. He noted that Winters has never been charged in those slayings.

Among the allegations prosecutors want to present:

Ÿ That on June 18, 1999, 40 days before Tucker was slain, Winters was involved in the kidnapping and murder of Darryl Green. Prosecutors said Green was abducted from his Broadview beeper store and held for ransom by Winters and two other men, McAfee and Kevin Mitchell. The suspects used duct tape, handheld radios and the same van used in Tucker's killing. Prosecutors said multiple calls Winters made to the victim's brother were recorded. A 9 mm handgun, duct tape and blood stains were later found in the van.

Ÿ That on May 6, 1999, Winters was involved in the shooting death of Dwayne Lemon in Chicago. Prosecutors said Lemon, a cousin to Mitchell, was murdered by Winters, McAfee, possibly Mitchell and another man as the result of a gang feud. Lemon was shot at least seven times with three different firearms, prosecutors said.

Ÿ That on June 9, 1995, Winters, Mitchell and a third gang member murdered 15-year-old Frederick Nolan in Chicago. Prosecutors said a gun used in the killing has been forensically tied to other crimes involving Winters and Mitchell. A man who was convicted in the slaying also identified Winters as the shooter, prosecutors said. Nolan, who was wanted on murder charges at his time of death, was shot three times in the head, with one shot close to his left eye, which prosecutors say is similar to the way Tucker was killed.

Ÿ That on Jan. 5, 1994, Winters, Mitchell and a third man killed Kimberly Harrison in Chicago to prevent her from testifying as a witness to the shooting death of a 15-year-old boy. Prosecutors said Harrison was grabbed while walking in an alley, handcuffed and dragged into an abandoned garage, where she was shot twice in the chest and head.

Winters is being held without bail in the DuPage County jail. He returns to court Jan. 27.