Joliet man found guilty in 2014 Aurora drug deal murder
A Kane County jury on Wednesday convicted a 21-year-old man from Joliet of shooting and killing an Aurora man in January 2014 during a drug deal.
In addition to first-degree murder, jurors found Dimitri Green-Hosey guilty of armed robbery and determined he fired the shot that killed Arin Williams, 20, at a near-west side Mexican restaurant.
Green-Hosey now faces 45 to 85 years in prison with no chance of early release.
The jury deliberated nearly five hours before reaching its verdict; a sentencing date before Judge D.J. Tegeler was not immediately available.
During the two-day trial, the defendant's brother, Jaquan Green-Hosey, 22, testified the two called their connection Jan. 13, 2014, to buy an ounce of high-grade marijuana but planned to rob the dealer instead. Jaquan testified he grabbed the pot and started to run, but he heard a pop and turned around, then saw Dimitri with a gun in his hand and Williams wounded in a hallway in the rear of the restaurant.
Dimitri Green-Hosey took the witness stand Wednesday and said Williams brought a gun to the drug deal and the two scuffled for eight seconds in the hallway. Dimitri said he wrestled the gun away and shot Williams in self-defense because he was scared.
Kane County Assistant State's Attorney Mark Stajdohar said Dimitri's testimony was not believable, especially because Williams was shot once - in the back of the head - and only Dimitri had a gun.
"(Dimitri's) not scared. He's a murderer," Stajdohar told jurors. "In the end, the defendant is the one holding the gun, and it's a smoking gun."
Stajdohar noted other witnesses testified they didn't hear a scuffle and saw the two brothers all "hyped up" entering the restaurant and laughing when they left.
After the shooting, the two ran to a nearby apartment complex. Dimitri tossed the gun into a lake, where it was later recovered, and Dimitri cut his hair and bathed in bleach to wash off any gunshot residue. The two spent the night at a hotel in Cicero and later were caught at a train station by authorities.
Jaquan Green-Hosey pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and armed robbery earlier this year and will be sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Stajdohar said that even if Dimitri's self-defense story was true, he questioned what motivation would Jaquan have to make up a story that was worse for both of them.
"This is the crux of the case. Why would Jaquan want to make up a story against his brother?" Stajdohar said to jurors.
Defense attorney Robert Lewin argued Jaquan Green-Hosey cut a deal with prosecutors to save himself and told prosecutors a different story just a week ago.