A jury convicted Issac Anderson, 30, of murdering 60-year-old Oral Woods on a CTA Red Line train on Oct. 15, 2022. Prosecutors say Anderson grabbed Woods’ backpack, took a bottle of Pepsi, then shot him five times after pulling a revolver from his pocket. Ande
By the time prosecutors say the shooting happened, a routine ride on the CTA Red Line had already turned into a deadly confrontation.
On Oct. 15, 2022, a jury found Issac Anderson, 30, guilty in the fatal shooting of Oral Woods, 60, on a Red Line train near 87th Street. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office said Anderson faces 48 years to life in prison. Sentencing is set for July 9.
The case centered on surveillance video and a sequence of moves prosecutors described as deliberate. After 6 a.m., Anderson was captured on CTA surveillance video moving to a seat beside Woods. Prosecutors said he grabbed Woods’ backpack, searched it, and took a bottle of Pepsi. They said Anderson then threw the backpack at Woods and walked away with the drink.
The video, prosecutors said, also showed Anderson moving to a seat across the aisle. Prosecutors described him drinking some of the Pepsi before throwing the rest of the bottle at Woods. When Woods then stood up from his seat. prosecutors said the footage showed Anderson reaching into his pocket. pulling out a revolver. and shooting Woods five times.
Prosecutors said Woods was taken to a hospital and later died. The surveillance recording, they said, did not show Woods holding anything in his hands when Anderson allegedly reached into his pocket.
Anderson was arrested four days later near the same CTA station. In the aftermath, the focus for the courtroom became not just what happened, but how quickly it unfolded—moments prosecutors described as theft and sudden violence shifting into fatal gunfire.
The sequence prosecutors described—Anderson taking Woods’ backpack and Pepsi. throwing both items. then producing a revolver and firing five shots—left little room for dispute about the timing of the violence once Woods stood. What the jury decided, after hearing those details, was that Anderson’s actions led directly to Woods’ death.
For Woods’ family and for riders who share the Red Line route, the conviction closes one chapter of a case that began with a morning ride and ended with a 60-year-old man dead. Anderson will now wait to learn his sentence when he returns to court on July 9.
CTA Red Line Issac Anderson Oral Woods Cook County State’s Attorney 2022 shooting Illinois courts surveillance video revolver