Chicago jurors on Wednesday found a man guilty of being the getaway driver in the 2013 murder of Hadiya Pendleton, the teen who was killed a week after attending President Barack Obama’s second inauguration, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. During a trial that spanned two weeks, prosecutors built a case that Kenneth Williams was behind the wheel of a white Nissan that was seen speeding away after a gunman fired multiple times into a crowd of students in a park less than a mile from Obama’s home.
Williams was found guilty of first degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery, as two other people were hit by bullets in the shooting. Family members didn’t plan to comment until after a verdict is reached in the case of Micheail Ward, who has been charged with firing the gun in the shooting. Williams’ role as the driver made him just as guilty of the killing, said prosecutor Brian Holmes said in closing arguments Wednesday. “Kenneth Williams is responsible for what Micheail Ward did,” Holmes said. “It’s just as if, in the eyes of the law, his hand is on that trigger.” Closing arguments in Ward’s case will begin Thursday morning. Much of the case against Williams hinged on statements he allegedly made to fellow gang members just minutes after the shooting. In his closing statements, Williams’ attorney Matt McQuaid argued police had wrongly pegged Williams as a gang member, and that there was no physical evidence to tie him to the shooting.