CHICAGO — A man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for trying to kill a 61-year-old woman with his bare hands inside a Lincoln Park store three years ago.
Kenyate Jackson, 29, took his case to a bench trial before Judge Timothy Joyce, who found him guilty of all charges, including attempted first-degree murder, on May 2. This month, Joyce handed him the 25-year term.
Jackson was AWOL in a pending stolen car case when he started following the woman as she walked to a bus stop in the 2700 block of North Clark in August 2021. The woman, who had never seen Jackson before, noticed that he was stalking her, so she dipped into a clothing store to get away, officials said.
But Jackson followed her into the business and yelled that he was going to kill her. Then, according to prosecutors, he set out to do precisely that.
With several employees and witnesses watching, Jackson put his arm around the woman’s neck and slammed her into a wall. Jackson, still choking the woman, allegedly dragged her behind the store’s counter by her neck. They fell into a display, then slammed onto the ground, where Jackson wrapped his legs around the woman as he continued choking her with his arm, prosecutors said.
When a metal bar fell from a nearby shelf, Jackson grabbed it and pressed it against the woman’s throat as she struggled to get away. A witness eventually pried Jackson’s arms and legs from around the woman, allowing her to escape. The witness then held Jackson down until police arrived.
Surveillance cameras recorded the attack, which officials said lasted eight minutes.
Jackson, who was convicted of two robberies in 2013, is scheduled to be paroled in October 2042.
