East St. Louis man found guilty of killing Shiloh man

A St. Clair County jury has found a 26-year-old man guilty of first-degree murder.

Willie J. Brown of 1700 Cleveland Ave. was charged Feb. 7, 2015, with the shooting death of Tyree Smith, of Shiloh. Smith was shot at the Samuel Gompers Homes in the 400 block of North Sixth Street. The shooting occurred about 11:30 a.m. Feb. 4. Smith was shot in the head and chest.

Brown, represented by Lloyd Cueto and Sara Rice, went to trial last Monday. Two days later, a jury returned a guilty verdict after five hours and 45 minutes of deliberations. After the verdict was delivered, Brown’s bail was revoked.

Circuit Judge Robert Haida scheduled Brown’s sentencing for June 30. He could face up to life in prison because the jury found that Brown actually fired the weapon that killed Smith.

This story was originally published May 29, 2016 at 12:47 AM with the headline "East St. Louis man found guilty of killing Shiloh man."