Suburban Chicago jury convicts man of shooting another man in head with assault-style weapon
LAKE COUNTY, Ill. (CBS) -- A jury convicted Azim Ibrahim of shooting another man in the face with an assault-style weapon during an argument over an arranged "romantic relationship" with a woman.
The jury reached the verdict late Monday after five days of testimony from more than a dozen witnesses, including law enforcement officers, medical personnel, and expert witnesses.
Ibrahim, 38, was first charged in December 2022 after Fox Lake Police Department officers responded to a report of shots fired at an apartment building on Mineola Avenue. When officers arrived, they found Roy Hoffman, 77, dead with a large gunshot wound to the head.
Investigators, using phone records, eyewitnesses, and surveillance video, discovered that Hoffman had arranged to have a "romantic relationship" with a woman on the night of the murder. The woman and Ibrahim lived at the same address, according to the original charging information.
At the trial, officers testified that Ibrahim drove the woman to Hoffman's home and waited for her outside. Eyewitnesses testified that at some point, Ibrahim retrieved the high-powered pistol from his vehicle and entered Hoffman's building.
The woman testified that Ibrahim knocked on the door and confronted Hoffman. Ibrahim forced his way into the apartment, ordered Hoffman to the ground, and shot him, the woman testified. Ibrahim walked out of the residence, and the woman said she followed him.
An expert from the Northeastern Illinois Regional Crime Laboratory testified that the weapon used to kill Hoffman was an AK-47 style semi-automatic pistol.
Ibrahim claimed that he was acting to defend himself and the woman after she claimed she had been sexually assaulted.
But at the trial, the woman denied telling Ibrahim she had been sexually assaulted. The woman also described how Hoffman was unarmed and did not threaten Ibrahim.
Ibrahim testified in his own defense and again claimed self-defense even though no weapons were found in Hoffman's apartment, and Ibrahim entered the residence, pointing his firearm at Hoffman.
Ibrahim remains incarcerated and is facing a minimum of 45 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. His next court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 20.
