Background: News footage from the scene in Evanston, Ill., where Servando Hamros was killed in July 2022 (WLS). Inset: Khiryan Monroe (Evanston Police Department).
An Illinois man who opened fire on a young father playing Pokemon Go with his 6-year-old daughter in a park pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Local ABC affiliate WLS reported that 23-year-old Khiryan Monroe entered a guilty plea in court on Tuesday, three years after he was arrested for the murder of 29-year-old Servando Hamros. Monroe was charged with killing Hamros while the victim was playing Pokemon Go with his 6-year-old daughter in a park in Evanston, Illinois. Police said at the time that Hamros caught Monroe and his girlfriend engaged in a sexual act and reportedly recorded the couple on his cellphone.
When Monroe spotted Hamros, he and the woman ran away. Monroe went back to his home to retrieve his gun, which he used to fire multiple shots at Hamros while his daughter was present.
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According to court documents obtained by local CBS affiliate WBBM, Monroe turned himself in weeks after the July 14, 2022, shooting that left a young girl as a witness to her father”s fatal shooting. Monroe told police that he and his girlfriend were allegedly robbed by Hamros, who police said was carrying a gun at the time of the shooting, and that he acted in self-defense.
Hamros’ family members disputed that claim, though court documents stated that one of the couple’s phones was found in Hamros’ pocket. WLS reported that both of the couple’s phones were found near Hamros at the scene. Monroe’s attorney Herb Goldberg told WBBM that Hamros “was an armed robber, and these kids went back to get their telephones. They were buck naked at the time that they left.”
Monroe and his girlfriend returned to the scene after retrieving his gun from his home. He then drove alongside the park where he first encountered Hamros and fired about 17 shots, fatally hitting Hamros as his daughter watched. Local NBC affiliate WMAQ reported that Hamros’ daughter used FaceTime to call her family while taking cover from the gunfire that killed her father. She reportedly told her family, “Daddy’s shot, Daddy’s shot. Please come help me, please come help me!”
WLS reported that according to prosecutors, Monroe and his girlfriend were seen on his home’s Ring camera after the shooting, and Monroe could be seen holding a weapon. Prosecutors also said that another person was seen leaving the home wearing latex gloves and carrying something in a bag.
Monroe entered his guilty plea for one charge of second-degree murder on Tuesday and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He received credit for time served.
