COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A man convicted of killing a reformed gang member who family members said had taken to patrolling his South Shore block to ward off the bad influences was sentenced to 90 years in prison.
Daniel Brown, 25, was given the sentence Monday by Cook County Judge Maura Slattery-Boyle in the murder of Eddie Coleman, 43. Coleman was slain on March 6, 2012 near his home in the 3000 block of East 79th Place.
Brown, family members said at the time of Coleman's death, may not have wanted to hear what Coleman had to say about the gangs Coleman once ran with.
“Yes, he was a former gang member, but he tried to steer other guys the right way — because he had been there,” said his sister, Melinda Coleman, soon after the murder. “I guess the [shooter] just didn’t like what my brother said to him.”
Prosecutors said during trial that the two men started to arguing at a corner store near Coleman's home.
Brown pulled a gun and shot Coleman as he tried to get away, they alleged. Coleman collapsed and Brown shot him again as he lay on the sidewalk outside his home.
After the shooting, Brown allegedly fired a shot into the air as a warning when one of Coleman's relatives yelled out to the defendant, prosecutors said. Witnesses at the scene identified Brown as the killer, and video from a surveillance system caught Brown on camera.
