Man Convicted Of Role In Killing 5 People In 2008
CHICAGO (STMW) -- Michael King said he had no idea his buddy Torolan Williams killed a mutual acquaintance and four others during a South Side robbery until Williams blurted out, "I put your homie on the news."
"I was scared that my friend was killed by another friend of mine," King told Cook County jurors this week. "I wasn't sure if it was a joke. I didn't want to get involved."
But King was involved in the quintuple execution-style murders, the jury ruled Thursday, siding with prosecutors who maintained that King was with Williams — his "right-hand" man — when the victims were shot in the head on April 23, 2008.
King wove a "fantasy story full of holes" when he took the stand and said he was at a girlfriend's house during the bloody rampage in the 7600 block of South Rhodes Avenue, Assistant State's Attorney Robert Heilingoetter said in his closing arguments.
King, motivated by greed, "walked into that house with no regard for human life" as he ransacked the rooms, skipped over the lifeless bodies and swiped TVs, jewelry and other "loot," the prosecutor said.
King, 33, of the 6400 block of South Kenwood, was convicted on murder and armed robbery charges after jurors deliberated for roughly six hours Thursday.
Another jury convicted Williams, 28, in May.
Williams and King joked about murdering 24-year-old Donovan Richardson and the others, Arthur Brown, the lookout in the deadly caper, testified in both men's trials.
Richardson and his friends, Anthony Scales Jr., 26; Reginald Walker, 23; Whitney Flowers, 22; and Lakesha Doss, 17, were found dead after the robbery.
King insisted all he did was help Williams and Brown put the stolen goods in his Ford Focus and drive away from the scene after he was summoned there that morning.
King said he thought Williams secured the items from Richardson in exchange for jewelry until Williams hinted that he had done something more sinister.
But King knew what happened because he was there, Heilingoetter said.
"He isn't fooling anyone," the prosecutor said, pointing that King trashed his car mats, clothes and cellphone chip after the murders.
Heilingoetter urged jurors to strongly factor in King's damning confession, in which he told detectives the order in which the victims were killed.
Williams and King face life in prison.
Brown, 31, is expected to be sentenced to 24 years in prison in exchange for his testimony against Williams and King.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
