For nearly a year, Isaac Anderson worked as a security guard at some of the city’s largest annual events. But his career, along with whatever plans he had for the rest of his life, came undone on an October morning in 2022 when he murdered a man aboard a Red Line train. Prosecutors said the killing stemmed from Anderson wanting the victim’s Pepsi.
Jurors took just three hours in June to convict Anderson, 30, of the killing. On Thursday, Judge Angela Munari-Petrone sentenced him to 55 years for murder and an additional consecutive five years for robbery. Under the law, he must serve the full murder sentence and half of the robbery sentence before becoming eligible for release.
Prosecutors said CTA surveillance video captured the entire incident, beginning when Anderson used his own Ventra card to enter the State-Lake station on the morning of the shooting.
He boarded a southbound train, and 60-year-old Oral Woods entered the same car a few minutes later. After roughly 30 to 40 minutes, Anderson left his seat and sat beside Woods. The two spoke for several minutes before Anderson grabbed Woods’ backpack and searched through it, prosecutors said.
Video showed Anderson removing a Pepsi from the backpack and tossing the bag onto the seat next to Woods. Prosecutors said Anderson went back to his original seat, drank some of the Pepsi, then returned and threw the remaining soda on Woods. When Woods stood up, unarmed and with both hands visible, Anderson pulled a revolver from his jacket and shot him five times, prosecutors said. Anderson then fled the train at the 87th Street station.
Chicago police officers, acting on an initial description of the shooter, located Anderson a short time later while he was riding a CTA bus. They interviewed him, gathered his information and searched him for weapons, but he was not carrying a gun, so officers released him. Days later, after investigators identified him as the shooter, officers found Anderson again outside the 87th Street station, officials said.
Prosecutors said investigators uncovered records showing Anderson purchased three guns, including a revolver, in November 2021. Police also found a Facebook photo showing Anderson posing with a revolver and messages in which he discussed shooting someone, according to court records.
Anderson had no criminal history before the shooting. His defense attorney said during his initial court appearance that he had worked as a security guard for nearly a year, including at major events such as Lollapalooza.
“No one should fear for their safety while using public transit. This conviction holds the defendant accountable for a senseless act of gun violence that took the life of an innocent CTA passenger,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen Burke said after the jury returned its verdict. “I commend prosecutors Rebecca Wiggers and Matthew Larkin, along with the Chicago Police Department and Chicago Transit Authority, for their work on the investigation to ensure justice for Mr. Woods and his loved ones.”
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