CHICAGO — An 18-year-old man has been sentenced to 27½ years in prison for killing a young father during a carjacking attempt in Bridgeport at Christmastime in 2020. Denroy Garcia was 16 at the time of the crime, but the case was handled in adult court.
Court records show Judge Ursula Walowski ordered Garcia to serve 100% of his sentence after he pleaded guilty to murder during the commission of a forcible felony. The judge also ordered him to receive mental health services and pursue higher education while serving his time.
Prosecutors alleged that Garcia had participated in a series of carjackings and other violent crimes in the weeks before he targeted Shuai Guan, 33, on December 21, 2020.
In fact, just two minutes before he tried to carjack Guan, Garcia allegedly stole a Subaru Outback from a woman who left the vehicle running.
At 6:10 p.m., the Outback and a carjacked Audi A3 pulled onto the 3000 block of South Union as Guan checked his mailbox.
Garcia emerged from one of the cars and ordered Guan to surrender his car keys, according to prosecutors. They said Guan complied and went into a nearby alley, where he called 911. He would remain on the phone with a 911 operator until after he was fatally shot.
Garcia got into Guan’s Jeep but couldn’t figure out how to get the vehicle into drive, officials said. He returned to the Outback, put it in drive, and chased Guan down the alley, followed by the Audi.
Moments after Guan told the 911 operator he was being chased, the call taker heard a “large crashing noise” and Guan pleaded for help, an assistant state’s attorney said during Guan’s initial bail hearing.
Three shots rang out. One struck Guan, who fell to the ground and died a short time later. Police found him in the alley, face-up, with his pants pockets turned inside-out.
Later that night, cops saw the Outback parked and running with Garcia behind the wheel and a second person in the passenger seat, officials said. Police arrested him after a short foot chase. The Audi was also recovered at the scene.
Guan is survived by his wife and son, who was four years old at the time of the shooting.