Accused Pour Bros. shooter arraigned on separate charges of burglary, armed robbery
URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — The man accused of shooting the general manager of Pour Bros. Craft Taproom a week ago is now facing charges for the theft of the gun used in the shooting and for allegedly showing it during a robbery two days earlier.
Two days after his indictment on a first-degree murder charge, Fidele Tshimanga was back in court on Wednesday to be arraigned on burglary and armed robbery charges. Each charge was brought in separate court cases.
Julia Rietz, the Champaign County State’s Attorney, laid out a timeline of when the theft, robbery and shooting happened. It all started in Savoy last November. The owner of the gun reported it missing after he left it in his car.
Rietz said Tshimanga admitted to stealing the gun out of the car.
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The robbery happened on Feb. 5 at Illinois Terminal. Rietz said Tshimanga tried to talk to a woman and her children on an MTD bus, but she did not respond. Tshimaga, the victim and her children all got off the bus at the terminal.
Inside, Rietz said, Tshimanga approached the victim and showed the gun to one of her children. After that happened, he is accused of grabbing the woman’s phone out of her and smashing it on the ground. He left before the police arrived.
Two days later, Tshimanga is accused of firing the gun at Brandon Hardway as he was taking a smoke break outside Pour Bros. Hardway was hit in the back and left in critical condition.
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Video surveillance and witness testimony showed Tshimanga at the scene of the shooting, and prosecutors said he confessed in a police interview.
On Wednesday, Tshimanga’s lawyer requested a psychiatric evaluation due to mental health concerns. That evaluation will be used to determine if he is fit to stand trial.
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