CHICAGO — More than three years after Chicago Police Officer Ella French was murdered while conducting a traffic stop, her killer was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday afternoon.
Emonte Morgan, 23, maintained that the shooting that killed French and left one of her partners badly injured was not intentional. But Judge Ursula Walowski wasn’t buying his excuse.
“You made these decisions,” the judge said. “You pulled the trigger.”
A jury convicted Morgan of French’s murder and the attempted murder of her partners, Carlos Yanez and Joshua Blas, within hours of beginning deliberations in March. Walowski denied Morgan’s request for a new trial and a motion to reduce his sentence. She gave Morgan another 50 years for the attempted murder of Blas and seven years for illegally possessing the firearm.
Yanez’s father, speaking before Walowski announced the sentences, called Morgan a “f***ing a***ole who should have been put down” a long time ago.
Morgan’s brother, Eric, was driving the SUV when French and Yanez approached their car for a traffic investigation in the 6300 block of South Bell on August 7, 2021. During the stop, Emonte Morgan pulled out a gun and killed French, state prosecutors alleged. Emonte Morgan also shot Yanez and tried to shoot Blass, who chased him after the first two officers were downed, prosecutors said.
“Today, justice was served,” said the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in a written statement.
“Officer French’s commitment to serving our city with integrity and honor will never be forgotten, and we stand with her family, friends, and the entire Chicago Police Department as they continue to mourn her loss.”
“We would be remiss not to laud Officer Yanez for his courage and resilience throughout this ordeal, which has been nothing short of inspiring.”
Eric Morgan was sentenced to seven years in prison last October after he pleaded guilty to three felonies in connection with the case: destroying evidence, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon with a previous conviction. He is expected to be paroled on December 10.
In 2022, an Indiana man pleaded guilty to a federal firearms charge for providing the gun to Eric Morgan about five months before the ill-fated traffic stop.
Emonte Morgan was on probation for a robbery he committed in Old Town two years and one day before he killed French. Prosecutors said he arranged to meet a 36-year-old Bridgeport man in the 1200 block of North Larrabee so Morgan could purchase the man’s $900 iPhone. But, when the two got together around 8:30 p.m. on August 8, 2019, Morgan took the phone and ran away, the victim alleged.
The victim tackled Morgan in a nearby parking lot, and a fight broke out. Police said Morgan punched the man repeatedly, prompting the alleged victim to “defend himself.” A passerby also jumped into the fray to help detain Morgan until police arrived.
Morgan’s face was visibly battered and scratched when cops took his mugshot a few hours later.
Morgan pleaded guilty and received two years of probation on November 25, 2020. Prosecutors filed a violation of probation motion six months later after Morgan allegedly fled the scene of an accident involving injury, court records show. Nonetheless, he remained on the streets.
