Here are the court outcomes for some gun-related cases we told you about on CWBChicago.
Rap star Herbert “G Herbo” Wright reached a plea deal with prosecutors who accused him of having a handgun in a limo near State and Roosevelt in February 2018. Two other men in the vehicle were also charged with having guns.
Wright and prosecutors struck a deal in which the rapper pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor carrying a firearm while prosecutors dropped four felony gun charges. Judge Matthew Coughlan sentenced him to two years probation, nine days time served, and levied a fine of $494.
One of the other men charged with Wright, Deavonte Kimble, opted for a bench trial last year. Coughlan found him not guilty on all charges: five felony counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon with a previous conviction and being a felon in possession of a weapon.
Wright, who is based in Chicago, has worked with Chance the Rapper, Common, and Nicki Minaj, among others.
A 20-year-old man accused of firing a handgun inside a Streeterville parking garage while having three other pending criminal cases has reached a plea deal. The judge sentenced him to only one year on the gun charge, but he had worse luck with the other matters.
Prosecutors said surveillance video captured images of Ricardo Ortiz pulling out a handgun in the garage at 240 East Illinois in August 2018. He allegedly fired the weapon at a security camera and then into the garage, striking a 20-year-old man in the abdomen, according to court records. The victim recovered from his injuries and identified Ortiz as the shooter, police said.
Ortiz was on second chance probation for burglary at the time of the incident. He also had pending cases for theft, narcotics, and probation violation. He repeatedly failed to appear in court and had been put on and taken off electronic monitoring in the months before the Streeterville incident.
In a deal with prosecutors, Ortiz received a sentence of one year with 499 days credit for time served in the gun case. Judge Timothy Chambers also sentenced him to concurrent terms of two years for manufacture-delivery of cannabis, two years for a burglary in Justice, Illinois, and three years for possession of fentanyl.
With time served and an anticipated 50% credit for good behavior, his parole date is set for Feb. 2, 2021.
Prosecutors accused 22-year-old Gerald Hunley of shooting at people in the 800 block of North Cambridge on June 9, 2018. He was a registered gun offender at the time due to a previous gun violation.
Hunley reached a deal with prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon while the state dropped two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, two counts of being a felon in possession of a weapon, and three other felonies.
Judge Catherine Haberkorn sentenced him to six years in prison with 443 days credit for time served. With an anticipated 50% sentence reduction for good behavior, Hunley will be paroled in July 2021.
A homeless man who was arrested after he took a gun out of his pocket to “adjust himself” in River North has been sentenced to 30 months probation.
Police said a motorist told them he saw Wakili Boyd walking hear LaSalle and Chicago, holding a gun in his hand and pushing a shopping cart on Aug. 8, 2018. But Boyd did not point the gun at him, the man said.
Officers stopped Boyd and found an unloaded handgun in his left pants pocket. He told cops that he “found the gun in his belongings,” police said, and he only took it out of his pants because he had to adjust himself after going to the bathroom.
In a deal with prosecutors, Boyd pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon with a previous conviction. The state dropped charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and another felony count. Judge William O’Brien oversaw the case.
