An East St. Louis man entered a guilty plea Friday in federal court for the 2019 shooting death of Illinois State Police Trooper Nick Hopkins of Waterloo.

Christopher Grant, 47, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and also to gun and drug charges. Two lesser charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

Grant had initially pleaded not guilty to all charges last June.

“From the first hours of this investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has pledged to vigorously pursue justice for Trooper Hopkins and his family,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. “Today’s conviction is an important step toward keeping that solemn promise. Our thoughts and prayers remain with his family, and we will continue our work to honor his sacrifice.”

Court information states Grant shot and killed Hopkins while an ISP tactical team was serving a “no knock” warrant the morning of Aug. 23, 2019, in East St. Louis.

Hopkins, 33, a 10-year ISP veteran, and two other SWAT team members went onto Grant’s porch to connect chains from the front hooks of a police Ford F350 to a set of steel bars protecting the front door. Officers were preparing to forcibly remove the steel bars from the door frame so they could enter through the front door.

Grant told officers he was sleeping on the couch in the living room close to the front door when the activity on the porch woke him up. Grant claimed that he suspected someone was there to rob him, as he had been robbed of cash and drugs roughly two weeks earlier. As part of his guilty plea, Grant admitted that he had been sleeping on a .9 mm handgun and that he fired the gun three times toward whoever was on his porch.

Hopkins had just finished connecting the chain to the steel bars on the front of the house and was turning to walk back down the steps when one of Grant’s gunshots passed through the wooden door and struck him in the head, entering through his right temple. Officers returned fire as other SWAT team members rushed to Hopkins’ rescue.

Hopkins was transported to Saint Louis University Hospital, but all life-saving efforts were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead that evening.

Grant was selling crack cocaine and marijuana out of his home, court information states. Undercover officers had purchased drugs from Grant three times in June and July 2019 before being granted a search warrant. During those drug buys, officers saw AR-15 and AK-47-style rifles and handguns, prosecutors said.

Grant’s neighbor, Al Stewart Jr., 21, attempted to help him escape the raid by bringing Grant into his half of the duplex through an attic crawlspace, police said. Stewart and Grant later surrendered. Stewart was sentenced to four years and three months in prison last September after he pleaded guilty to a charge of being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm.

Grant’s sentencing is set for Nov. 9. He faces the possibility of life in prison without parole.