Waukegan man found guilty of murder during 2011 car theft
A Waukegan man has been found guilty on three counts of first-degree murder for killing a Waukegan man while stealing a car.
Kerwin Murry, 28, faces up to 75 years in prison after a jury returned a guilty verdict Friday after deliberating the case for less than two hours, said Assistant Lake County State' Attorney Scott Hoffert.
Murry's sentencing date will be set after a Dec. 21 status hearing date in front of Judge George Strickland, Hoffert said.
Murry and co-defendant Frederick Smith were accused of pointing a gun at Carlos Hernandez, 44, of Waukegan, while Hernandez was seated in a relative's car in the 200 block of Hickory Street in December 2011.
The pair took the vehicle and drove with Hernandez for a couple of blocks, then shot him twice - once in the abdomen and a second time in the shoulder, authorities said.
Hernandez was able to provide a description of the suspects to police before he died on the way to the hospital, authorities said.
Authorities located the vehicle abandoned two blocks from the scene of the shooting, authorities said. Police and canine units tracked Murry and Smith two blocks to the Lakeside Towers apartment complex, where they were taken into custody, authorities said. The gun used in the shooting was found in a garbage can near the apartment complex.
Smith pleaded guilty to armed robbery in 2013 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
A third person was also involved in the shooting, but he was never charged by police.