CCSAO SECURES GUILTY VERDICT IN 2021 MURDER OF 71-YEAR-OLD MAN WALKING IN CHINATOWN
The offender was convicted of first-degree murder for using a ghost gun with an extended magazine to fatally shoot Woom Sing Tse, a beloved grandfather and father of three
CHICAGO — A jury today convicted Alphonso Joyner, 27, of fatally shooting 71-year-old Woom Sing Tse as he walked down a street in Chinatown in December 2021. Joyner fired a ghost gun with an extended magazine at the unsuspecting victim more than 25 times during the early afternoon attack, which prosecutors described during the trial as a random act of violence.
“This senseless act of violence robbed Woom Sing Tse’s family of a beloved and doting grandfather, and it traumatized the entire Chinatown community. While today’s guilty verdict cannot erase the pain and grief of Tse’s loved ones, we hope this outcome provides some comfort in knowing that justice has been served,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said.
The jury found Joyner guilty of first-degree murder after deliberating for about an hour. Surveillance video evidence that showed Joyner carrying out the brazen shooting was featured prominently during the trial.
The Dec. 7, 2021, attack on Tse occurred as Tse was on a regular afternoon walk from his home, prosecutors said in court. Tse was near South Princeton Avenue and West 23rd Place when Joyner, traveling east on 23rd Place in a vehicle, pointed a gun out of his driver's side window and fired seven shots at Tse, according to prosecutors. After the initial round of shots, Joyner drove his vehicle closer to Tse and fired additional shots. As Tse fell to the ground and began to yell, Joyner got out of his vehicle, approached Tse, and fired a final nine shots at Tse as he lay on the ground. Joyner fired a total of 26 times at Tse, according to prosecutors.
According to prosecutors, law enforcement apprehended Joyner about an hour after the shooting on the Kennedy Expressway in the same vehicle used in the attack, which was registered to Joyner. Inside the car, officers recovered a loaded firearm with an extended magazine and determined it was a ghost gun – an untraceable weapon comprised of random mixed parts and no serial number.
State’s Attorney Burke thanked Assistant State’s Attorneys Kevin Deboni, Chief of the Criminal Prosecutions Bureau, Susan Jakubiak, James Konstantopoulos and Camelia Robey for handling the case, as well as Victim Witness Specialists Juanita Diaz and Shea Smith and Community Engagement Deputy Director Christine Chan. She also thanked the Chicago Police Department for the thorough investigation leading to the arrests and charging of the defendant.
Joyner remains in custody at Cook County Jail and the next court date is Nov. 19 for post-trial motions. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Domenica Stephenson presided over the trial.
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