CHICAGO — The man accused of shooting at a truck driver on the Dan Ryan Expressway has been sentenced to six years in prison—plus another four years for the gun case he was on bail for at the time of the incident.
Armonii Russell, 26, pleaded guilty to aggravated discharge of a firearm into an occupied vehicle and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon before Judge William Gamboney yesterday.
His pleas were part of a deal in which prosecutors dropped the most serious charges he faced, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, and six other felonies. Gamboney ordered the sentences to be served consecutively.
The shooting allegations stemmed from a road rage confrontation on the Dan Ryan in April 2021.
Prosecutors said Russell sideswiped a tractor-trailer while the vehicles merged onto the expressway at 59th Street. Russell pulled in front of the trucker and repeatedly stopped his BMW in a maneuver known as a “brake check,” Assistant State’s Attorney John Gnilka said during Russell’s initial bail hearing.
A dashcam inside the truck was recording as Russell pulled out a handgun with an extended magazine and fired about four rounds into the big rig’s front windshield, according to Gnilka. No injuries were reported.
Russell fled the scene, but the trucker and a witness called the police. Investigators used the truck’s camera footage to identify Russell through license plates and other records.
He was on bond at the time of the shooting for carrying a 45-caliber handgun while allegedly selling pot in a South Side laundromat.
Russell was the 54th person accused of killing, trying to kill, or shooting someone in Chicago in 2021 while awaiting trial for a felony.
