A Chicago man was sentenced to life in jail plus 20 years on Friday for fatally taking pictures two pals within the head and wounding two others throughout a 2018 birthday outing on Michigan Avenue within the Loop.
A Prepare dinner County jury convicted 46-year-old Marquis Watkins in Could of two counts of first-degree homicide and two counts of aggravated battery by discharging a firearm, courtroom information present. On Friday, Decide Mary Brosnahan handed down his sentence.
The shootings occurred simply after midnight on October 1, 2018, as Watkins and 4 longtime pals drove alongside the five hundred block of South Michigan Avenue in a Chrysler 300. The group had gathered downtown to have a good time the twenty ninth birthday of Bruce Miller, who was using within the entrance passenger seat subsequent to Watkins.
With out warning, prosecutors mentioned, Watkins opened fireplace contained in the car.
Miller was shot twice within the head. Steve Nixon, 31, seated behind Watkins within the center-rear seat, was additionally shot within the head. Each males died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Two different passengers, each 29 and half-brothers of Watkins, have been shot within the shoulder. One among them, seated within the again, advised investigators he noticed muzzle flashes from Watkins’ route earlier than realizing he had been hit.
After the gunfire, the automobile veered uncontrolled, struck a planter field, and flipped onto its roof. Watkins and one among his injured half-brothers crawled from the wreckage. That man fled into the Congress Resort for assist.
Prosecutors mentioned Watkins, the one particular person within the car who was not shot, later gave a videotaped assertion admitting to firing the weapon. A married father of three, Wtkins owned a house in Brainerd and had no prison file earlier than the taking pictures.
