COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A man grieving the loss of his little brother, gunned down in May over drug turf, allegedly plotted to kill the person he believed was responsible, prosecutors said.
Tyrone Kirkman, also known as "Bay Bay," was ordered held on $900,000 bond Wednesday after he allegedly "took substantial steps to carry out the murder he wanted to commit in retaliation for his brother's death."
Tevin Kirkman, 22, died May 18 after he was gunned down outside his grandmother's Humboldt Park home in the 1100 block of North Lawndale Avenue. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital with gunshot wound in the back of the head and pronounced dead.
Tyrone Kirkman, 27, allegedly "showed off" a .357 revolver at his brother's funeral pledging that "someone was going to pay," Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Christina Brewer said.
The defendant wanted retaliation for his brother's death and was determined to get this because he "believed the police were not solving the murder fast enough."
He also allegedly talked to several people, including an undercover cop, about his plans, Brewer said. And on June 10, he was recorded stating "if he killed [the man who he believed to be the murderer] who was controlling the boys in the war, he would kill the top which would 'weaken the body.'"
Sitting in his mother's living room the next morning, family members said they didn't know why anyone would target Tevin Kirkman, who was not involved in gangs.
Prosecutors said Wednesday that a feud over drug turf between Kirkman's family and the family of the man he suspected of killing his brother has been playing out in the area.
Friends and family members showed up in court Wednesday to support Tyrone Kirkman.
"If police put as much energy into finding Tevin's murderer, there would be no violence," said a woman who declined to give her name.
They said Tyrone Kirkman has not been in his right mind since the death of his brother and asserted that Kirkman's alleged statements were "just words."
"We have all made statements that we should not have," she said. "He ain't no killer."
The group did however concede that the Kirkman brothers have been involved with drugs.
