People v. Hooker CA3

BACKGROUND

Donald Kirby’s body was found just inside the door of his Oak Park apartment with a gunshot wound. Officers recovered a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson design casing manufactured by Federal at the scene. A bullet had entered Kirby’s right cheek. Shortly before the shooting, a neighbor saw a Chevy sedan park near an alley close to Kirby’s apartment building. Four men got out of the car. One of the men wore a camouflage jacket and carried a backpack. The neighbor subsequently heard a pop and saw three of the men run back to the car, laughing. A second neighbor saw a man standing at the bottom of the stairs leading to Kirby’s apartment. After the man started up the steps, the neighbor heard a bang and saw three men run down the stairs and toward the alley. A third neighbor heard three loud sounds, opened her apartment door, and saw three men run down the stairs and toward the alley. Chewing gum found nearby contained the DNA profile of Calvin Holmes. Holmes later identified Elias Garcia as the shooter and Christopher Merrill as another person involved in the attempted robbery. Holmes ultimately entered a plea to attempted residential robbery in concert with two or more people,…