Tuesday, November 20, 2012
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. …
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Wesley Woodson, 20, is charged with the shooting death of 14-year-old Dajae Coleman on Saturday, Sept. 22. He entered a plea in Cook County Circuit Court on Tuesday.
The Evanston man charged with the shooting death of 14-year-old Evanston Township High School freshman Dajae Coleman pled not guilty to 153 felony counts in Cook County Circuit Court on Tuesday. The State’s Attorney’s Office charged Wesley Woodson, 20, with first-degree murder and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, among multiple other counts, after police say he fired a gun at Dajae and his friends as they were walking home from a party Sept. 22. Evanston police say 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.” Woodson is charged not just with felony counts in Dajae’s death but also on behalf of the …
Friday, November 2, 2012
Evanston will hold an amnesty-based gun buyback program for residents, meaning no police enforcement action will be taken as a result of someone turning in a firearm.
Among several measures taken in response to the shooting death of 14-year-old Dajae Coleman, the city of Evanston will hold a gun buyback program next month. Scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 15, the buyback is “amnesty-based,” officials say, meaning no police enforcement actions will be taken when someone turns in a firearm, regardless of whether it is a legal weapon. “We encourage anybody that has a firearm and wants to turn it in to do it, whether they have an FOID or not,” explained Evanston Police Cmdr. Jason Parrott. “We’re trying to get firearms off the street that are in workable condition and can harm the public.” Officials will accept unloaded guns only from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Christ Temple Missionary Baptist Church, 1711 Simpson …
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl hosted a community meeting in early October to discuss ways to promote nonviolence following the shooting death of 14-year-old Dajae Coleman.
Asked how to prevent violence in Evanston, residents say they want to offer more mentorship programs, increase job opportunities and create more programs for parents. Those ideas are among 16 different proposals to come out of a community meeting Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl hosted Oct. 2, following the shooting death of 14-year-old Dajae Coleman. Some 400 people packed the Fleetwood-Jourdain Center for the public discussion that night, meeting in small groups to share their ideas, then reporting back to everyone. Related: Nonviolence Meeting Brings Hundreds After Dajae’s Death Following the meeting, city staff gathered the input to determine major themes among the ideas proposed. They then posted the ideas discussed online at the city’s “…
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Dajae Coleman's mom spoke to Patch at a hearing Tuesday. Wesley Woodson, a 20-year-old Evanston man, is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in the 14-year-old's death.
The Evanston man charged with murder in the shooting death of 14-year-old Evanston Township High School freshman Dajae Coleman appeared in court Tuesday and is set to enter a plea next week. Watching as Wesley Woodson, 20, took the stand was Dajae Coleman's mother, Tiffany Rice, along with several family and friends. Ald. Jane Grover (7th Ward) was also present. "I know it's going to be a long road ahead of us," said Rice, who also has a 7-year-old daughter. "I will be present during every proceeding to make sure justice is served in my son's name." Woodson is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in the Coleman's death Sept. 22. Police say Woodson, who is affiliated with the a local street gang, mistook …
Monday, October 29, 2012
In a previous criminal case, a judge admonished Wesley Woodson, 20, who is charged with the shooting death of Dajae Coleman, 14. “You’ve got to cut it out,” she said.
The 20-year-old Evanston man who is charged with the shooting death of 14-year-old Evanston Township High School freshman Dajae Coleman is expected to enter a plea in Cook County Circuit Court in Skokie tomorrow. Just four months earlier, when a judge heard evidence on prior criminal charges against Wesley Woodson for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, she admonished him to “make a choice” with his life—but ruled that there was not enough evidence to convict him. Woodson is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in the death of Dajae Coleman Sept. 22. Police say Woodson, who is affiliated with the Gangster Disciples, mistook Coleman for someone he knew, and described the shooting as “a retaliatory act …
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Wesley Woodson, 20, is scheduled to appear in court next week on charges of first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of 14-year-old Evanston Township High School freshman Dajae Coleman.
When 20-year-old Wesley Woodson appears in court next week, where he is charged with the shooting death of 14-year-old Dajae Coleman, it won’t be the first time he’s faced firearms charges. Wesley Woodson, 20, is set to enter a plea Oct. 30 on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm in connection with Dajae’s death Sept. 22. Just three months earlier, however, a judge ruled him not guilty of possession of a firearm in public or aggravated unlawful use of a weapon after an incident dating to spring 2011. That incident is one of several criminal offenses Woodson has been charged with in the past, including possession of a controlled substance. Dajae, who had just started his freshman year at Evanston Township …
Friday, October 12, 2012
“While I am not advocating sympathy for the boy who shot Dajae,” writes one Evanston mom, “I do believe it is critical to examine how our community’s dismissal of boys like Wesley leads to violence.”
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Friday, October 12, 2012
Dear Editor: Many of us have healed over and gotten back to our normal activities after the senseless murder of Dajae Coleman broke our hearts and motivated us to get our families fed and ourselves out the door and to a community meeting after a long day at work or after picking up our child from practice or both. Today the colors and the crisp air say fall, a reminder that life goes on. Not for Dajae Coleman’s family. As a mother of three sons, the Colemans are living my worst nightmare. The sudden, permanent loss of their boy must be unimaginably painful. My thoughts wander to them often. Dajae Coleman: The Story So Far My thoughts also wander to the other family who lost their boy that night, the family of Wesley Woodson, III, the …
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Parents and friends who knew Dajae Coleman, the 14-year-old Evanston boy who was shot and killed Sept. 22, gathered at the McGaw YMCA for a public conversation on the aftermath of his death.
In the week since 14-year-old Dajae Coleman was shot, Evanston Pride basketball coach Michael Johnson has gotten angry, cried in the shower, and slept very little. “It's probably the worst that I've felt,” Johnson said. “It’s just a senseless thing.” Speaking at a panel convened by local community groups Monday night, Johnson and other Evanston residents began the monumental task of moving forward — and trying to make some sense out of the Evanston Township High School freshman’s tragic death. Police say Dajae was shot by an Evanston man who believed Dajae was someone else. Dajae and his friends were walking home from a party at Church Street and Florence Avenue Saturday, Sept. 22, Wesley Woodson, 20, of Evanston, fired four shots at the…
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Nearly 2,000 people gathered Saturday in Evanston for the funeral of 14-year-old Evanston Township High School freshman Dajae Coleman, who was shot in what police say was a case of mistaken identity last week.
Family members printed 1,200 programs for the funeral of 14-year-old Dajae Coleman, the Evanston Township High School freshman who was fatally shot in what police said was a case of mistaken identity last week. Thirty minutes before services began at First Church of God Christian Life Center, every last program was gone, handed out to the nearly 2,000 mourners who gathered for his funeral Saturday. Known as “Dae Dae,” the honor student was fired at four times by a 20-year-old Evanston man with gang connections, police said, who was arrested and charged with first degree murder Friday. Police described the shooting as “a retaliatory act upon an innocent group of teens.” Read more: Dajae Coleman, The Story So Far Based on the crowds …
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Tiffany
12:35 pm on Monday, December 3, 2012
All that ranting and raving I've heard, "Woodson came from a good home".....prove it! more ›