A Chicago woman got two years probation Wednesday for lending her car for her then-boyfriend to get rid of the gun after he killed a man outside a Hammond smoke shop.
Mychael Thomas, 30, pleaded guilty to assisting a criminal, a Level 6 felony. She can later petition and get it knocked down to a misdemeanor.
She drove him April 1, 2022 to the Oasis Smoke Shop, 5535 State Line Ave. A witness said she later pulled up looking for Ross. He ran from the scene and they later “reconvened,” court records note.
Marcus Ross got 32 years in June 2023 after a jury convicted him of voluntary manslaughter and a gun enhancement in the April 1, 2022 death of Zackery Smith, 27, of Chicago.
At his trial, lawyers clashed on who ultimately fueled the encounter.
Ross’ lawyers Lakeisha Murdaugh and Jennie Bell contended Smith pulled two guns on him first and he came back and gunned Smith down in self-defense.
Deputy Prosecutors Maureen Koonce and Cole Galloway countered minutes passed between the first confrontation. Ross briefly left, then returned to the parking lot — shutting down his self-defense argument, they said at trial.
Both cases were before Judge Gina Jones. Koonce prosecuted Thomas’ case. She was represented by defense lawyer John Cantrell.
