Chicago — Prosecutors say a Chicago man shot his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend more than 20 times outside the woman’s home while on bail for being a felon in possession of a firearm. After the murder, Willie Humphrey engaged in incriminating text messages and painted his getaway car a different color, Assistant State’s Attorney Danny Hanichak said Friday.
Humphrey is the 52nd person accused of killing or shooting—or trying to kill or shoot—someone in Chicago while awaiting trial for a felony this year. The alleged crimes involved at least 90 victims, 24 of whom died.
Willie Humphrey | Chicago Police Department
Hanichak said Humphrey and his ex broke up months before the July 3 murder, which occurred outside her home in the 6500 block of South Kedzie. Video allegedly shows Humphrey parking near the woman’s home shortly before the murder and pacing back and forth in front of her building.
Humphrey and the 25-year-old victim walked into camera range around 1 p.m., and the victim ended up lying on the ground for reasons that were not made clear during Friday’s bail hearing.
The footage shows Humphrey bent over the victim at the same time that a ShotSpotter detector alerted Chicago police to gunfire at the location, Hanichak continued. A witness saw someone who looked like Humphrey run from the scene with a handgun and drive away in a BMW.
Hanichak said the victim suffered 23 gunshot wounds and died.
Police determined that Humphrey’s phone pinged at the murder scene; he searched the Spot News Twitter account for information about the murder; and painted his BMW white after the crime, according to the allegations.
Hanichak claimed that three days after the murder, Humphrey and his ex-girlfriend texted each other about hiding the BMW, changing the plates, and deleting photos to conceal their relationship. Humphrey also told her he was going on the run and that she might have to care for their child alone.
Judge Charles Beach ordered Humphrey to be held without bail.
At the time of the murder, Humphrey was out on bail for a gun case he picked up on April 23 after Chicago police allegedly found a firearm in his car during a traffic stop.
His private defense attorney, Richard Kloak, filed a motion to suppress evidence in the April gun case on August 1, arguing that Chicago police seized the weapon during an unlawful search. According to court records, Judge Domenica Stephenson granted the motion on November 21.
Hanichak reminded Beach on Friday that Humphrey had to acknowledge that he possessed the firearm during the April traffic stop to have standing to get the evidence dismissed.
The “not horrible” series
This report continues our coverage of individuals accused of killing, shooting, or trying to kill or shoot others while on bond for a pending felony case. CWBChicago began our series of reports in November 2019 after Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans publicly stated, “we haven’t had any horrible incidents occur” under the court’s bond reform initiative.
The actual number of murders and shootings committed by people on felony bail is undoubtedly much higher than the numbers seen here. Since 2017, CPD has brought charges in less than 5% of non-fatal shootings and 33% of murders, according to the city’s data.Â
