Crime & Safety

Murder Suspect's Father Charged With Firearm Violations

Evanston police found two handguns in the home of Wesley A. Woodson III, who is charged with the murder of 14-year-old Dajae Coleman. Woodson's father was charged with unlawful possession.

The father of the man charged in the murder of 14-year-old Dajae Coleman faces weapons charges after police found two unregistered handguns in their home.

During their investigation of Dajae's shooting death in September, detectives searched the home of 20-year-old murder suspect Wesley A. Woodson, III, according to Evanston Police Cmdr. Jason Parrott. They found two handguns and ammunition at Woodson's residence in the 1700 block of Ashland Avenue, where he lived with his family.

"We don't believe that those were the weapons that were involved [in the murder]," Parrott said. That's because Dajae died after he was shot with a 9-millimeter handgun, according to Parrott, and the two guns that police recovered were not 9-millimeter weapons.

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Earlier: Man Charged In Dajae's Murder Pleads Not Guilty To 153 Felony Counts

Woodson's 50-year-old father, whose name is Wesley Albert Woodson, was subsequently charged with three misdemeanor counts for possession of the handguns and possession of the ammunition without a valid firearm owner's identification card, Parrott said.

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Police conducted the search warrant on the Woodson home in September, he said, but waited to press charges because investigators wanted to make sure the handguns did not belong to the younger Woodson. 

Woodson the son recently appeared in Cook County Circuit Court in Skokie, where he pled not guilty to 153 felony counts, including first-degree murder and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Prosecutors say he fired a gun at Dajae and his friends as they were walking home from a party Sept. 22.

Evanston police have said that Woodson, who has gang affiliations, mistook Dajae for someone he knew, and described the shooting as “a retaliatory act upon an innocent group of teens with no gang affiliations.” 

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