A Naperville woman has been charged in the Saturday night shooting death of a man at an Oakbrook Terrace hotel.
Latrice Phillips, 51, appeared before Judge Joshua Dieden this afternoon, who denied her pretrial release, according to a news release from DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin and Oakbrook Terrace Police Chief Casey Calvello.
Phillips has been charged with one count of first-degree murder in the case.
Reports of shots fired at an Oakbrook Terrace hotel
Authorities say Oakbrook Terrace police were called to the Hilton Suites at 10 Drury Lane around 8:15 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2, after receiving a report of shots fired.
Once they arrived, they found a man later identified as Calvin Truitt, who had been shot twice in the back/side area. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Police say shooting followed argument at hotel pool
According to investigators, earlier that night at the hotel pool, Phillips allegedly got into a verbal altercation with someone who was with a group of people she knew, including Truitt.
That group, along with Truitt, allegedly left the pool and got in an elevator. Authorities say that Phillips allegedly followed the group and got on the elevator as well. Once the elevator got up to the seventh floor and the doors opened, a fight allegedly broke out.
Authorities say that’s when Phillips allegedly pulled out a handgun. They claim she fired the gun three times, striking Truitt. Phillips allegedly went back to her hotel room after the shooting, prosecutors say.
Phillips arrested without incident at hotel room
According to the news release, Phillips was arrested shortly afterward at her hotel room. Authorities say they found a Taurus 9 mm handgun in a holster from her waistband, when they were processing her hotel room.
“The allegations that Ms. Phillips followed Mr. Truitt and others into a hotel elevator as they walked away from a verbal altercation and then shot and killed Mr. Truitt as they exited the elevator in a crowded hotel during the busy holiday season are shocking and will be met with the full force of the law,” Berlin said in the news release. “In DuPage County, we do not tolerate any type of gun violence.”
“I would like to thank the men and women in law enforcement for their heroism in responding to an active shooter,” Calvello said in the news release. “Within minutes the officers had administered first aid to the victim, secured a ten-story building to ensure the safety of others, and then apprehended the suspect.
Phillips is scheduled to be back in court on January 4, 2024 for arraignment.
Photo courtesy: DuPage County State’s Attorney
If you have a story idea, send us a tip!
