28 years for death of man who fell on CTA tracks

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Updated: September 29, 2011 12:28AM

A West Side man was sentenced to 28 years in prison Thursday for chasing and beating a CTA passenger on a Red Line subway platform, leading to his death after he fell onto the tracks and was electrocuted.

Maurice Evans, 25, and his co-defendant, Antwaun Thompson, 29, were convicted in March by two separate juries before Cook County Judge Joseph Kazmierski.

Thompson has not yet been sentenced.

Two others — Clint Johnson and Martell Johnson — were sentenced to 20 years and 21 years, respectively, after they pleaded guilty to murder for their roles in Daniel McKenzie’s death.

The four men had gotten into a fight with McKenzie, 43, and his companions on the train, prosecutors alleged during the trials. When they left the car, Johnson and his friends aggressively pursued McKen­zie, kicking and hitting him.

It didn’t matter whether McKenzie slipped or was pushed, or even if the men never intended to kill him at the Roosevelt and State stop on July 27, 2008, prosecutors told jurors.

Defense attorneys claimed that McKenzie, his brother, Michael, and their friend were the instigators.

During the trials, jurors were shown the jarring surveillance video that captures the men beating McKenzie and McKenzie’s fall onto the tracks.