A 20-year-old Evanston resident turned himself in to the police Monday after investigators executed a search warrant and told his attorney they had “probable cause for an arrest” in the killing of Servando Hamros, 29, according to Evanston Police Commander Ryan Glew.
Khiyran Monroe, a 20-year-old Evanston resident, surrendered to police via his attorney on Monday, July 25. EPD notified the public of his arrest in a news release sent Wednesday evening.
Glew said following Monroe’s surrender on Monday, the Cook County State’s Attorney “reviewed the case and put the charges on late the night” of Tuesday, July 26, according to EPD Commander Ryan Glew. Police then “waited for the bond hearing” to occur on Wednesday, “got the information from the bond hearing, and then did the release,” Glew said.
Glew said EPD waited to announce the arrest until after the defendant’s charging and bond hearing due to the additional time it took for these to occur post-arrest. “Most of the time the arrest and charges are so closely related time wise they are almost synonymous,” Glew said. “In cases such as this they are not. … The charges are what makes it public, not the arrest itself.”
Despite it is highly unusual for police to wait two days until after the bond hearing to tell the public about an arrest. Especially, in a case where shooting was more than two weeks ago, and the police had released no information prior to calm a public that was nervous about the shooter being at large.
The circumstances of the shooting and the story that unfolds are bizarre and unclear. Here is what the Wednesday night news release describes:
On July 14 sometime before 9 p.m., Hamros and Monroe were both in the North Shore Canal park. Hamros was with his 7-year-old daughter, and Monroe was with a woman. The two men apparently did not know each other prior to meeting that night.
Hamros supposedly took a video of Monroe and the woman he was with having sex with in the park. The police then say: “It is possible the confrontation escalated and Hamros robbed Monroe.” Commander Glew said he could not comment further on what suggested this possibility to investigators.
Monroe and the woman he was with ran away to Monroe’s parked car, a silver Honda CRV, where Monroe had a loaded gun. The couple drove southwest along McCormick Boulevard, searching for Hamros and when they found him, pulled the car to the curb. Monroe, who was about 112 feet from Hamros, apparently fired 17 round at Hamros from the window of the car. One of the bullets hit Hamros in the eye, none hit Hamros’ daughter.
Officers responded to the shooting at 9:05 p.m. Police received 911 calls about shots being fired, but an officer was also nearby and heard the shots. The officer gave first aid to Hamros and when the Evanston Fire Department arrived, they took over, trying to save his life. But Hamros was pronounced dead on the scene. Police say a handgun belonging to Hamros was recovered at the scene as well.
The Evanston Police Department and the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force, NORTAF, investigated this shooting. Monroe is currently being held without bond until his next court appearance on Aug. 16.