A Cook County judge sentenced a 30-year-old former security guard to 61 years in prison for gunning down a fellow CTA passenger over a can of Pepsi, closing out a case that began with a shooting on a Red Line train nearly four years ago. Isaac Anderson shot 60-year-old Oral Woods five times aboard a southbound train near 87th Street at roughly 6:08 a.m. on October 15, 2022, and Woods died the next day at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
According to CWB Chicago, Woods had boarded the same southbound train car as Anderson, and the two ended up sitting next to each other roughly 30 to 40 minutes into the ride. Prosecutors said the killing was sparked by Anderson's desire to have Woods' Pepsi — he took the can from Woods' backpack, sipped it, then shot Woods, grabbed the backpack, tossed it back onto the seat, and threw the rest of the Pepsi on Woods before fleeing the train at the 87th Street station. Woods was unarmed with both hands visible when he was shot, per prosecutors.
A Desperate Attempt to Signal for Help
As reported by CBS News, the injured Woods tried to stand and pull the train's emergency cord before collapsing onto the floor of the railcar. The entire sequence inside the car was captured on high-resolution CTA surveillance video, which later became central to the case against Anderson.
Chicago police officers found Anderson riding a CTA bus shortly after the shooting and searched him for weapons, but released him because he did not have a gun on him at the time, according to CWB Chicago. Officers eventually caught up with Anderson outside the 87th Street station four days later, on October 19, 2022, in the 0-99 block of West 87th Street in Chatham — near the same station where he had fled, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office said.
Digital Trail Led Investigators Back to Anderson
Investigators determined Anderson was responsible for the shooting days after the attack, piecing together his movements through his own Ventra card, which he used to enter the State-Lake station, along with social media activity. Court records reported messages in which Anderson discussed shooting someone, and police found a Facebook photo of Anderson posing with a revolver. Investigators also found records showing Anderson bought three guns, including the revolver used in the shooting, in November 2021.
Anderson had no criminal history before the shooting and had worked as a security guard for nearly a year, including at major events such as Lollapalooza, per CWB Chicago's reporting. Following his October 2022 arrest, prosecutors secured a no-bond order, and Anderson remained in custody at Cook County Jail continuously through his trial and sentencing this year.
Jury Deliberated Just Three Hours
On June 9, 2026, a Cook County jury deliberated for approximately three hours before finding Anderson guilty of first-degree murder and robbery, according to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. The trial relied heavily on the CTA surveillance footage and the Ventra card and social media evidence prosecutors had assembled. Prosecutors on the case included Rebecca Wiggers and Matthew Larkin.
Judge Angela Munari-Petrone sentenced Anderson to 55 years for murder and a consecutive five years for robbery, for a total of 61 years. Under Illinois' Truth-in-Sentencing law, individuals convicted of first-degree murder cannot earn good-conduct credits and must serve 100% of their court-imposed term, while robbery convictions require at least 50% of the sentence to be served — meaning Anderson must serve all of the murder term plus half of the robbery sentence before he is eligible for release.
State's Attorney Eileen Burke commended prosecutors Wiggers and Larkin, along with the Chicago Police Department and the Chicago Transit Authority, for their work on the case. “This conviction holds Anderson accountable for a senseless act of gun violence that killed an innocent CTA passenger,” Burke said. “No one should fear for their safety while using public transit.”
A Case Rooted in a Historic Spike in Transit Violence
Woods' murder happened during what Chicago Police Department data show was the worst year for violent crime on CTA rail in at least two decades — 2022 saw 10 homicides recorded on CTA property, compared to five or fewer in typical prior years, even as ridership had dropped during and after the pandemic. In response to that surge and ongoing transit safety concerns, Burke's office established a dedicated CTA Task Force and a Regional Transit Task Force this year to coordinate prosecutors, police, and transit officials targeting crime on public transportation.
Transit crime has remained a stubborn problem systemwide even as the numbers have started to improve. Chicago Police data cited by Illinois Policy show 2,893 reported crimes at CTA stations and platforms between August 2024 and July 2025, with fewer than 20% of violent transit crimes during that period resulting in an arrest. By July 2026, however, CTA officials reported six consecutive months of declining crime systemwide, including a 47% reduction in overall crime on the Red Line, a drop transit officials attributed to increased patrols by Chicago Police officers and Cook County Sheriff's deputies.
