SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS — A man is dead after police say he was shot when trying to enter a home and threatening violence. That same mas is said to have had a pending felony case for unlawful violation of an order of protection. The woman, the victim in that case, was inside the home he was trying to get into.
Springfield Police said the man killed, 29-year-old Willie C. Evans, suffered a fatal gunshot wound by 26-year-old Martin A. Brown as Evans tried to forcibly enter a residence in the 1400 block of North 11th Street. This happened at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 7.
Witnesses told authorities that when Evans arrived at the residence, he repeatedly banged on the door and threatened violence. Witnesses also said Evans went to a bedroom window and forced an air conditioning unit through it to gain entry to the residence.
At this time, Brown allegedly fired a gun toward the window, striking Evans.
via foxillinois.com
Good guy stops bad guy and that’s the end of the story, right? Usually.
This particular story doesn’t end there, however.
The armed defender who saved the woman inside the home was in possession of that firearm illegally.
Brown has been charged with armed habitual criminal, a Class X felony, and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, a Class 2 felony. This comes after Brown has been convicted of two forcible felonies: residential burglary in 2012 and aggravated battery (great bodily harm) in 2018.
While Brown won’t face any charges for the actual shooting and killing of Evans, he is facing the other felony charges. He was on parole at the time of the shooting, and turned himself into police the same day.
He remains in jail and his bond is set at $500,000.
It’s a bitter-sweet story. While Brown won’t have to answer for his actions of defending himself and another by means of lethal force, he wasn’t legally allowed to possess the firearm based on prior convictions. That’s a shame, but there’s nothing we can do about his actions that landed him a felony record.
