A Bridgeview woman who faced attempted murder charges for her role in a shooting that left another woman seriously injured on Lake Shore Drive has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in a deal that will have her walking out of prison later this year.
Prosecutors said Jennifer Medina instigated the shooting and repeatedly cut the victims’ car off as her boyfriend tried to render first aid and drive her to a hospital following the daytime shooting near LSD and Balbo Drive on October 10, 2020.
Medina, driving with three passengers, rolled to a stop next to the victim, who was riding in her boyfriend’s passenger seat, prosecutors said.
Medina stared at the victims, rolled down her window, and said something to her passengers, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said. Her passengers allegedly threw up gang signs and began asking the victim’s boyfriend where he was from.
According to prosecutors, a 16-year-old boy then got out of Medina’s back seat, threatened the victim and her boyfriend, and fired one shot at the couple as the light turned green. The bullet struck the woman in her nose and went through the side of her head. She lost her left eye, Murphy said.
The victim’s boyfriend tried to help his 19-year-old girlfriend as he sped from the scene, but Medina repeatedly cut him off and blocked his car as the gunman fired more rounds at the victims’ car, according to the allegations.
Murphy said that the boyfriend eventually got around Medina’s car to exit at Grand Avenue, where he sought help from a Navy Pier security guard.
According to court records, Medina pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery in a public place in a deal that had prosecutors drop ten felony charges, including six counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Judge William Raines oversaw the case and sentenced Medina to four years. She will receive a 50% sentence reduction for good behavior and 394 days credit for time spent in jail before pleading. Her parole date is set for October 4, 2022.
Two weeks after Medina was arrested, prosecutors charged the alleged shooter, a 16-year-old boy, with attempted murder. No further information is available about him or the status of his case because he is a juvenile.
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