U.S. attorney lays out long criminal history of ‘co-defendant’ in death of state trooper
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An Illinois state trooper killed in East St. Louis
Read the BND’s previous coverage of the killing of Nicholas Hopkins while Illinois State Police served a no-knock warrant in East St. Louis in August 2019.
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The 20-year-old co-defendant in the criminal case involving the shooting death of Illinois State Trooper Nicholas Hopkins was ordered detained after U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Beatty heard a preponderance of evidence from the U.S. attorney of Southern Illinois, who is personally handling the prosecution in the case.
Al Stewart Jr. sat at the defense tab wearing an orange St. Clair jail uniform and shackled at the waist, hands and feet as U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft laid out a lengthy criminal history as the reason why Stewart should not be allowed to go free before standing trial.
Stewart was indicted Wednesday on the federal charges of unlawful use of a controlled substance with a firearm.
He was arrested at the East St. Louis duplex where he was staying on the morning of Aug. 23, shortly after Hopkins was shot in the head while attempting to execute a no-knock search warrant. Stewart had 19 grams of marijuana and $500 cash stored in a pair of pants when he was taken into custody, Weinhoeft said.
On Wednesday, Beatty ordered Stewart remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
”After considering all of the evidence, detention is warranted,” Judge Beatty said. “There are no combinations of conditions that would assure the safety of the community. The weight of the evidence is very strong against the defendant.”
Weinhoeft said Stewart is the leader of the John DeShields street gang, which feuds with the Kutt Boys gang. Stewart admitted to police during an investigation into the shooting of Hopkins, a father of three from Waterloo and 10-year veteran of the ISP, that a family member gave him a .38 special to protect himself after someone from the rival gang shot at him at a public housing complex.
Stewart has been arrested five times since being placed on juvenile probation on drug and firearms offenses, Weinhoeft said, twice following high-speed chases as the passenger in a stolen car.
He has been ordered to have substance abuse treatment and “he didn’t show up,” Weinhoeft said. “He was ordered to do 50 hours community service and, he didn’t do a single one.”
After calling him a danger to the community, Weinhoeft presented the judge with a Facebook picture that showed Stewart wielding a gun while another member of his gang displayed a fan of money, all in large bills.
Finally, Weinhoeft argued, the North 42nd Street duplex where Stewart was staying was a known drug house where a confidential police source had purchased crack cocaine on two occasions and third time from its inhabitants at another location. Stewart shared the address with Christopher Grant, who was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Hopkins, who was there with ISP SWAT officers to execute the warrant.
It was from that warrant that officers seized 47 marijuana plants and a large cache of guns, including some that had been reported stolen and another that was connected forensically to a homicide and a pair of non-lethal shootings.
Weinhoeft argued that Stewart would surely resume his drug use and other criminal activities if he were to be released. And based on his prior history, Stewart would be unlikely would not show up for court when he was required to, Weinhoeft said.
“His co-defendant is charged with shooting and killing an ISP office,” Weinhoeft said. “He lied to police when he was interviewed, he tried to misrepresent Mr. Grant’s whereabouts in the interview. He tried to suggest two others may have been present in that residence.
“He knew he was lying to obstruct and interfere with a police investigation. ... The evidence is simply insurmountable-overwhelming.”
Federal public defender, Eugene Howard, who had been assigned to the case Tuesday, asked that Stewart be released with a monitoring device.
“At least he could spend some time with his sick daughter,” Howard said. “She has a shunt in her brain. She is under constant medical attention. She has to be looked at and monitored.”
Stewart’s father posted bond in the state case and would provide him work at his real estate and construction businesses for about $400 per week, Howard said.
“My client informed me he worked every week 20-30 hours for his father. His father owns 20 to 30 pieces of property,” Howard said.
Probation officer Isaac Huddleson said Stewart told him he had been sleeping at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis with his daughter, who has “blood issues” and the early onset of cerebral palsy. If bonded, he would live with his grandmother in Swansea.
That contradicts what Stewart told police agents in his initial interview, said Huddleson, who also recommended to the court that Stewart be detained.
This story was originally published October 24, 2019 at 12:07 PM.
