On March 8th, 2019, Menelik Jackson was standing in front of Cook County Judge Joseph Claps to address a probation violation.
After pleading guilty to attempted burglary seven months earlier, Jackson was ordered to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and to observe a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew. But prosecutors told Judge Joseph Claps that Jackson violated those terms by allowing his monitoring system’s batteries to drain out.
Rather than penalizing Jackson for violating probation, Claps essentially rewarded him by removing the electronic monitoring requirement altogether. There was no punishment, only reward.
Two weeks later, off of electronic monitoring and on the streets well past his former curfew time, Jackson violated his probation again by obtaining a handgun. And he promptly used the gun to murder off-duty Chicago Police Officer John Rivera and gravely wound Rivera’s friend in River North.
On Tuesday, five long years after Rivera’s life ended far too soon, Judge Michael Clancy sentenced Jackson to 90 years in prison for the shootings. A jury convicted him of murder and gun-related charges in October.
“Officer John Rivera was a dedicated public servant who sought to make our city a safer place, and his senseless death left a hole in our hearts that can never be filled,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen Burke said. “Today’s sentence delivers long overdue accountability, as well as a measure of justice for Officer Rivera’s family, friends, and fellow officers.”
Two other men who played roles in the shootings were previously sentenced: Jaquan Washington received 13 years for conspiracy, and Jovan Battle received 65 years for directing Jackson toward Rivera’s car.
The crimes
Around 3:29 a.m. on March 23, 2019, Rivera, his girlfriend, an off-duty probationary police officer, and a fourth person had just entered Rivera’s parked car on the 700 block of North Clark. The group was heading home after spending time together at Stout Barrel House, less than a block away.
Unbeknownst to them, about an hour earlier, Jackson and Washington got into a fight with a group of Hispanic men at the former Rock and Roll McDonald’s, 600 North Clark, prosecutors said.
The groups split up, and Jackson and Washington returned to a nearby hotel where the women they met at a concert that night had rented a room, officials said. Both men were still upset about what happened at McDonald’s and decided to go back outside to search for the men who had fought them.
Outside, Jackson crossed paths with Battle and asked if he had seen a group of Hispanic guys in the area, prosecutors alleged. Battle guided them to Rivera’s parked car in the 700 block of North Clark Street.
Jackson allegedly walked up to Rivera’s driver’s side window and opened fire, killing the 23-year-old off-duty officer and critically injuring a man in Rivera’s back seat.
There were “no problems, no words were exchanged, no robbery demand, no carjacking demand” before the shooting, now-retired CPD Deputy Supt. Anthony Riccio said at the time.
Rivera had been a police officer for less than two years when he was murdered.
At trial, Jackson admitted to shooting at Rivera’s car that morning, but he said he thought they were the group from McDonald’s.
By law, Jackson must serve 100% of his murder sentence.
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