U.S. Marshals arrest Hammond man charged with gunning down ex-wife
The U.S. Marshals arrested a Hammond man charged with gunning down his ex-wife. Police got a tip that Allen Oscar Woods, 39, formerly of Houston, was near the 1200 block of Canal Street in Chicago. They arrested him at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at a “local establishment” near the 1400 block of South Canal Street, according to a release.
The U.S. Marshals arrested a Hammond man charged with gunning down his ex-wife.
Police got a tip that Allen Oscar Woods, 39, formerly of Houston, was near the 1200 block of Canal Street in Chicago. They arrested him at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at a “local establishment” near the 1400 block of South Canal Street, according to a release.
He is awaiting extradition to Lake County.
Allen is charged with murder in the Dec. 27 shooting death of Tiffany Woods, 39, of Hammond.
Court records show a string of violent threats preceded her death, especially following their early 2021 divorce. He faced two stalking cases against her.
In the first case, Hammond Police listed several incidents.
Allen told her in February 2022 that he would hop a flight from Texas to “shoot up” her Hammond home and “kill everyone inside,” an affidavit states.
“I can’t wait to get to you cause I’m going to torture you, I can’t wait to see you flat line, I’m going to get someone to kidnap you and bring you to me,” he said.
On March 28, 2022, he got mad about texts at their daughter’s birthday party, ripped a picture off the wall, threw and shattered the TV screen, knocked a side table over, then kept slamming Tiffany’s head into closet doors. Her mother called the cops, then tried to cancel when it appeared he calmed down.
She called Allen’s father to get him out of the house. The son tore another TV off the wall. Several children were in the house. Allen said if he went to jail, she’d “regret” it, a responding police officer wrote Tiffany said.
Tiffany told investigators in 2022 Allen threatened her at least 20 times via text or Facebook and 200 times over the phone since they split and divorced. She was in “constant fear.”
In the second stalking case, Tiffany told cops Allen chased her in a vehicle on Sept. 22, 2022 from Village Discount, 2706 165th Street, in Hammond before ramming her white Kia Optima into a pole on the 6700 block of Columbia Avenue. Allen laughed at her.
Hammond Police responded at 2:22 p.m. Dec. 27 to Cleveland Street and the Jackson Avenue alley.
Witnesses waved cops to Tiffany, who was shot in the head, lying in the middle of Cleveland Street. Allen jogged to her white Kia parked in front of his relative’s home and fled on Kenwood Street.
Allen called relatives and said he killed his ex-wife, according to the affidavit.
Witnesses said Allen ran, chasing her south while opening fire twice on the 6300 block of Jackson Avenue.
“HELP,” Tiffany screamed.
They rounded east onto Cleveland Street where he shot at her again, records show. Witnesses said he stood over her and fired a couple more shots around 4 p.m.; it was an “execution-style” killing, Hammond Det. Michael Elkmann wrote.
In November 2021, his father, Allen Woods, Jr., got probation for a shooting.
Trying to get his son — the younger Allen O. Woods — under control after a “domestic incident” on March 28, 2021 involving the son’s ex-wife, the father fired off warning shots that struck his son and nephew.
The older man was at first charged with attempted murder, among other counts. At the sentencing hearing, the elder Woods’ family — including his son’s ex-wife — showed up en masse to plead his case.
They told Judge Salvador Vasquez that the son was the problem that day. Several family members said Woods went to control his son that day who had been allegedly attacking his ex-wife after a birthday party for their 6-year-old daughter.
The elder Woods said he still supported her, due to the children, even though the son divorced her. At the time, there was a no-contact order that prohibited him from reaching out to his son.
The nephew, wounded that day, said he was backup for his uncle. His cousin was “acting like an animal” beating his ex-wife. The son was pulling TVs off the wall and smashing pictures. He encouraged her to press charges.
After listening, Vasquez gave the elder Woods a break — probation. Just outside the courtroom, after it was clear the elder man would avoid prison, the woman appeared to make a prayer gesture in relief.
Chicago Police, Illinois Department of Corrections, Hammond Police and U.S. Marshals’ Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force collaborated on Allen Oscar Woods’ arrest.
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