In 2016, Anthony McKenna posted a graphic photo to Facebook showing injuries to his left leg moments after he was shot. Friends and family members posted responses that urged McKenna to change his ways.
“That’s your wake-up call! Get the f*ck out,” one advised. “You’re too good of a man to surround yourself with this sh*t! Feel better & thank God you’re alive!”
The well-intentioned coaching did not bear fruit.
In July 2019, while riding his bike on the 3800 block of North Broadway near Boystown, McKenna allegedly threatened to shoot a man who blocked his path. He has now pleaded guilty.
Police said McKenna got off his bike, threatened to beat the man, then displayed a handgun in his waistband while threatening to shoot him, too.
The victim moved. Then, he flagged down a passing police officer to report the incident and then rode around in a squad car looking for the man who threatened him.
Police arrested McKenna, now 39, a short time later in the parking lot of Jewel-Osco, 3531 North Broadway. They found a handgun inside a trash can that McKenna used near the store, police said.
According to court records, McKenna pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Prosecutors agreed to drop three other felony charges in the deal. Judge Catherine Haberkorn sentenced McKenna to four years.
The judge gave him credit for 770 days spent in custody before pleading, and the state cut his sentence in half for good behavior.
Records show he reported to the Stateville Correctional Center on August 26 and was released the same day.
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