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A man accused of murdering two individuals during a robbery attempt in Chicago’s Chinatown five years ago has been convicted. The verdict was delivered on Friday.
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Authorities reported that Alvin Thomas was apprehended approximately 15 minutes following the early morning shooting on February 9, 2020. The incident occurred in the parking lot of an apartment building located in the 2000 block of South Wells Street.
According to the police, Thomas attempted to rob Huayi Bian, 36, Weizhing Xiong, 38, and a 44-year-old woman. While the woman complied with Thomas’s demands, the two men resisted, leading to Thomas fatally shooting them. The woman escaped unharmed.
Officers successfully tracked Thomas using surveillance cameras in the vicinity. He fled the scene, covering a distance of four or five blocks, but was eventually caught. Forensic examination confirmed that the shell casings at the crime scene matched the firearm in Thomas’s possession.
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Thomas faced four separate counts of murder, court records showed.
Police said Thomas had a criminal history, and was on probation for a 2018 robbery and battery in Boystown.
The murders sent shockwaves throughout the Chinatown neighborhood. Bian was a rideshare driver.
The trial for the murders began earlier this week, nearly six years after the crimes.
Jury deliberations began Friday afternoon, where they reached a guilty verdict.