Tyler Steven Hawker, a 26-year-old man from Glenwood, Illinois, was tragically shot and killed on August 22, 2022. The incident occurred around 7:50 p.m. while Tyler was smoking a cigarette on the porch of a residence in the first block of Willow Lane. According to prosecutors, Isaiah Collier, a 35-year-old man from northwest Indiana, believed that Tyler had arranged a hit on his nephew.
This mistaken belief led Collier to commit the fatal shooting.
On the day of the murder, Collier's cousin and uncle drove by in a Chevrolet Traverse and picked up Collier from a nearby home. Surveillance footage captured Collier retrieving a dark object from a Ford F-150 before getting into the back seat of the Traverse. The group then drove towards Willow Lane and parked a few blocks away. Collier and his uncle approached Tyler, who was still on the porch, and Collier allegedly shot him multiple times before fleeing the scene in the Traverse. Tyler was pronounced dead at the scene, and officers recovered several shell casings.
The investigation quickly identified the Traverse via surveillance footage, leading to a search warrant being executed at Collier's home. There, officers found ammunition matching the make of the shell casings found at the scene. Collier was pulled over by officers on August 25 while driving the F-150, and a 9mm semi-automatic handgun along with matching ammunition was found in his possession. The Illinois State Police crime lab confirmed that the gun was the same weapon used in the shooting.
Isaiah Collier was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Tyler Steven Hawker. He was ordered held without bail and was due back in court shortly after his arrest. Collier's cousin and uncle were named as co-offenders in the case, but they had not been charged at the time of the reports. Collier was also on bond for an aggravated unlawful use of a weapon case at the time of the murder. The case against Collier highlights the tragic consequences of misinformation and the devastating impact it can have on individuals and their families.
