Man Charged in Security Guard's Shooting Death Shouts of Innocence in Court

MARKHAM, IL — A man charged in the fatal shooting of a railway security guard shouted of his innocence in bond court Wednesday.

A judge denied bail for Rashad Williams, 24, who then reportedly dropped to his knees, "shouting 'I'm an innocent man,'" Chicago Tribune reports.

Williams faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of 38-year-old Tyrone Hardin on Nov. 26. Williams reportedly encountered security guard Hardin as the suspect was fleeing police. He and the guard then allegedly "exchanged gunfire" on Canadian National property, during which Hardin was struck in the abdomen.

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Williams then allegedly stole Hardin's car, and in new details heard in court, came upon a second guard. He then fired several shots, striking the guard's car, Chicago Tribune reports. Williams is charged with attempted murder and possession of a firearm as a felon. He has three prior gun-related convictions, one for which he served three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. He was on parole for that crime at the time of the carjacking and shooting.

He fled police Nov. 26 and eluded authorities for a week before being arrested while carrying groceries Sunday in Chicago Heights.

Williams was also charged with vehicular hijacking in a Nov. 9 incident during which he stole a woman's car as she was filling a tire with air, Tribune reports. It was that car Williams was driving on Nov. 26, when the owner spotted and pursued him near 147th and Halsted. Williams crashed the car near 159th and Park Avenue and fled onto Canadian National tracks, leading to the fateful encounter with Hardin.

The judge set bail at $250,000 on the carjacking charge. Williams is due back in court Dec. 28.

Read more from the Chicago Tribune.

Photo: Rashad Williams | Courtesy of Cook County Sheriff