CHICAGO — A judge on Friday sentenced a man to 20 years for shooting an off-duty Chicago police officer during a robbery attempt in June 2020. He received another 15 years, to be served consecutively, for a separate carjacking case.
Chrishawn Thomas, 23, was on electronic monitoring for a pending robbery case when he and an accomplice began following the off-duty officer after he left work early on June 9, 2020.
Prosecutors said that after the officer parked and exited his car in the 3900 block of South Artesian, Thomas jumped out of the second vehicle, holding a gun in his hand. He allegedly pointed the gun at the officer’s head from only a couple of feet away. Officials said the cop, acting in self-defense, pulled his own gun and exchanged gunfire with Thomas.
Officials said Thomas was shot in both legs, and the officer was shot near the knee.
Thomas showed up at a hospital for treatment a short time later. Investigators linked him to the shooting through a gun and blood they found at the scene, prosecutors said.
According to court records, Thomas pleaded guilty on Friday to aggravated battery by discharging a firearm in exchange for the 20-year sentence from Judge Diana Kenworthy. He must serve 85% of the 20 years.
He also pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm for a May 30, 2020, carjacking in the 3100 block of South Wallace. Kenworthy gave him an additional 15 years, to be served at 50%, for that crime. Prosecutors did not charge him with the hijacking until after he was in custody for the shooting, however, he was on electronic monitoring at the time of the carjacking, too.
The robbery case that he was on electronic monitoring for and a separate charge of possessing a weapon in a penal institution were dropped by prosecutors.
After it’s all said and done, with credits already earned and anticipated, Thomas should expect to be paroled just under 20 years from now.
