Lake County Gazette

Today, a Lake County Judge sentenced Azmi Ibrahim to 50 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the 2022 fatal shooting of a Fox Lake man.

Ibrahim, 38, was convicted on January 22, 2024, of First-Degree Murder after a jury trial before the Honorable Judge D. Christopher Lombardo.

After the sentencing, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart stated, “This brutal murder with an assault weapon deserves our community’s loudest condemnation. We will continue to support the victim’s family as we also work with law enforcement and legislator stakeholders to limit high-risk individuals from accessing firearms. The Violent Crimes Unit continues to hold accountable the most dangerous offenders, and we take some satisfaction knowing that this particular individual will spend decades behind bars where he will not be able to hurt anyone in Lake County.”

In December 2022, Fox Lake Police Department officers responded to a report of shots fired at an apartment building on Mineola Ave. When officers arrived, they found Roy Hoffman, 77, with a large gunshot wound to the head. Mr. Hoffman was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Law enforcement officers eventually learned through phone records, eyewitnesses, and surveillance video that Mr. Hoffman had arranged to have a “romantic relationship” with a woman on the night of the murder. This investigation led to the arrest of Ibrahim on December 13, 2022.

During the sentencing hearing, Chief Deputy of the Criminal Division Jeffery Facklam and ASA Kyle Doyle from the Human Trafficking Task Force argued to Judge Lombardo that Ibrahim perpetrated a vicious attack when he pulled the trigger on a vulnerable, unarmed 77-year-old veteran man with a walker. Prosecutors pointed out that this shooting was not something impulsive or spontaneous but rather a conscious decision Ibrahim made from the moment he left his car with the firearm to the moment he shot Mr. Hoffman. Prosecutors asked that Ibrahim be sentenced to at least 60 years in prison.

Sentencing laws allowed Judge Lombardo to sentence Ibrahim to a range of 45 years to natural life in prison with the term to be served at 100%.

Prior to trial, Ibrahim was being held in the Lake County Jail on a $5 million bond set by a judge in late 2022 before bail reform took effect. After the guilty verdict, Judge Lombardo revoked Ibrahim’s ability to post bond. Ibrahim received credit for 627 days served.