2nd person charged in Oak Forest homicide, due in court Tuesday

Oak Forest police announced on Monday that a second individual has been accused in the killing of a 54-year-old man on May 23. Rashee Wyrick from Chicago is set to appear in court for the first time on Tuesday at the Bridgeview courthouse. Prosecutors are requesting that Wyrick be detained until the trial, as stated in a court filing. Wyrick, facing a first-degree murder charge, has been linked with co-defendant Michael Protho in the death of Edward Lewis. Protho is already in custody awaiting trial. Wyrick, aged 32, was apprehended by members of the Illinois Department of Corrections and the U.S. Marshals Service’s Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force on Saturday. According to authorities, Wyrick and Protho broke into the residence through a window and attacked Lewis with a blunt object. Lewis had resided at the Oak Forest house on Long Avenue for about a year and had previously lived in Elburn. Protho, from South Paxton Avenue, was captured on May 24 after engaging in a high-speed pursuit with the police. Lewis was discovered dead in the living room of the house on May 23 by a family acquaintance, with injuries to his head. Subsequent investigations uncovered a significant quantity of cannabis and other drugs in the residence. The police observed signs of a potential connection to drug trafficking as the house had been ransacked. Court documents reveal that Protho had a prior conviction for robbery involving the assault of an elderly victim in Hazel Crest. Additionally, Protho had received a 42-month prison sentence and two years of probation in October 2022 for unlawfully transporting firearms, according to court records.