CHICAGO (AP) -- A Cook County jury has convicted a 25-year-old Chicago man of murder in an arson fire that killed a 4-year-old boy four years ago.
Jacky Burks was found guilty Monday of first-degree murder, aggravated arson and heinous battery for throwing a Molotov cocktail at a home on Chicago's West Side on March 10, 2001, said Cook County state's attorney spokesman Tom Stanton.
''One minute you've got a 4-year-old kid who likes to play drums, a happy kid ... and the next minute, he wakes up on fire, screaming for his Dad,'' prosecutor Brian Sexton told the jury Monday.
Burks and fellow gang members were retaliating for the killing of a fellow gang member when they mistook the 4-year-old's home for a rival gang member's house, prosecutors said.
Armon Kendley died from injuries suffered in the blaze, and two others were injured.
During Burks' trial, fellow gang member Michael Boyce testified against Burks in exchange for receiving a reduced charge and a five year prison term in the case.
Burks' attorney, Stuart Katz, argued that prosecutors lacked concrete evidence in their case against his client.
Burks' is scheduled to be sentenced April 27, Stanton said.
