Jury Convicts Round Lake Man Of Fatally Shooting Man, 77, In The Head In Fox Lake

By Sam Borcia, Lake & McHenry County Scanner

A jury late Monday convicted a Round Lake man of fatally shooting a 77-year-old man in the head with an AK-47-style pistol at an apartment in Fox Lake.

Azmi Ibrahim Jr., 38, of Round Lake, was charged in December 2022 with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of obstructing justice.

Lake County Major Crime Task Force Spokesman Christopher Covelli said at the time that Ibrahim and Kathryn A. Deason, 31, of Round Lake, drove to an apartment building in the 0-100 block of Mineola Road in Fox Lake on the evening of December 12, 2022.

Law enforcement learned through phone records, eyewitnesses and surveillance video that Roy Hoffman, 77, arranged to have a “romantic relationship” with Deason in exchange for money.

Officers testified at trial this past week that Ibrahim drove the woman to Hoffman’s residence and waited for her outside.

Deason met with Hoffman for a period of time while Ibrahim stayed in his vehicle, Covelli said.

Ibrahim eventually went inside the apartment building looking for Deason.

Ibrahim determined which unit the two were inside and then went back to his vehicle and retrieved a gun, Covelli said.

Deason testified at trial that Ibrahim knocked on the door and confronted Hoffman.

She said that Ibrahim forced his way into the apartment, ordered Hoffman to the ground and shot him.

After shooting Hoffman in the head, Ibrahim walked out of the residence and Deason followed him out, prosecutors said.

Deason and Ibrahim soon after factory reset their cell phones. Deason washed their clothes while Ibrahim hid the weapon in his residence, Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeffrey Facklam said.

Officers responded around 9:35 p.m. to the apartment after receiving a call of shots fired.

They found Hoffman in a pool of blood and determined he was deceased, prosecutors said.

The person who called 911 informed dispatchers that a man and woman entered a minivan and fled from the scene following the shooting.

A regional police broadcast was issued to local law enforcement to advise of the incident and the description of Ibrahim and Deason and the vehicle that fled from the scene.

Around the same time, Ibrahim threatened a woman by texting her “I’ll f–k u up” and included a photo of what appeared to be an AK-47 in his lap, court documents show.

The woman, who lives in Wonder Lake, received the text and photo around 9:30 p.m. on December 12, 2022.

Facklam said the text message photo of the gun that the woman in McHenry County received was suspected to be the murder weapon.

An expert from the Northeastern Illinois Regional Crime Laboratory testified at trial that the weapon used to kill Hoffman was an AK-47-style semi-automatic pistol.

The woman who received the image first reported it to the Round Lake Police Department and officers responded to Ibrahim’s residence in the 300 block of Lunar Drive in Round Lake.

The officers saw a minivan and recognized the description from the regional alert issued by the Fox Lake Police Department.

Officers were familiar with Ibrahim, who normally drives the minivan, and knew he lived at a residence on the block, Covelli said.

Police officers established a perimeter around his residence and requested the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System (NIPAS) to assist in apprehending the man.

Just prior to NIPAS deploying, the man exited the residence and surrendered to officers.

Facklam said that Ibrahim told investigators he accompanied Deason to the victim’s apartment.

Ibrahim said he received a phone call from the woman, at which point he went to the apartment with the gun and knocked on the door.

Prosecutors said Ibrahim gave inconsistent statements during his interrogation and eventually claimed to police that he was acting to defend himself and Deason after she claimed she had been sexually assaulted by Hoffman.

Deason denied telling Ibrahim that she had been sexually assaulted.

She also testified that Hoffman was unarmed and did not threaten Ibrahim. Investigators did not find any weapons in Hoffman’s apartment.

Ibrahim, who was represented by defense attorneys James Schwartzbach and Kristian Norby, testified that the killing was in self-defense.

The jury trial began last Tuesday and came to a conclusion late Monday evening with the jury convicting Ibrahim of first-degree murder.

Ibrahim faces a minimum of 45 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. He is scheduled to appear in court again on February 20.

Lake and McHenry County Scanner is a local breaking news website covering issues that matter such as shootings, stabbings, house fires, kidnappings, car accidents, and more around Lake County and McHenry County.