CHICAGO — A Taft High School student who shot at two schoolmates as they walked home from class last year, leaving one with a graze wound, received a 10-year sentence on Thursday.
Jaden Rivera was a 17-year-old sophomore at the time of the April 13, 2023, shooting, but prosecutors tried his case in the adult system.
Prosecutors said two male students, ages 17 and 18, saw Rivera sitting in his gold Cadillac on the faculty parking lot and talking with a staff member as they left the school, 6530 West Bryn Mawr, for the day, officials said. Rivera was dating the 17-year-old’s ex-girlfriend at the time, and the boys had fought at school before, but none had ever been arrested.
The victims saw Rivera’s gold Cadillac pass on various streets as they ordered food at a Subway and then walked through the neighborhood.
As they reached a 7-Eleven near Higgins and McVicker, the younger boy allegedly saw Rivera walking up the street, wearing a ski mask. Prosecutors said the boy recognized Rivera because he was wearing the same clothes he wore in school that day.
Rivera stopped, raised a gun, and fired three shots, officials claimed. As Rivera fired the shots, one of the victims allegedly saw the gold Cadillac parked at the mouth of a nearby alley with Rivera’s girlfriend in the driver’s seat.
The 17-year-old suffered a minor graze wound and did not require medical attention. The other boy fled to safety without any injuries.
Striking a deal with prosecutors, Rivera pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm toward an occupied vehicle. A more serious charge of aggravated battery by discharging a firearm was among several felonies dropped in the agreement.
Judge Alexandra Gillespie sentenced Rivera to 10 years on each count, with the terms served concurrently.
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