A judge this week sentenced an 11-time convicted felon to 68 years in prison for shooting a man during a robbery on the Red Line. The victim managed to slash Pierre Garrett, 37, in the face with a knife before Garrett shot him on the train at 69th Street on July 8, 2022.
CTA surveillance video showed Garrett displaying a gun and confronting the victim around 5:46 p.m., officials said.
Garrett allegedly ordered the man to “Give me everything.”
The victim began emptying his pockets, which also contained a knife. He used that knife to slash Garrett’s face.
Garrett responded by shooting the victim once in each shoulder, prosecutors said. While the victim was writhing in pain from his injuries, Garrett allegedly took his phone and backpack.
Even after being shot, prosecutors said, the victim managed to get up and physically fight Garrett to regain control of his backpack.
A witness who saw the shooting followed Garrett and directed Chicago cops to his location. Officers found him lying in a gangway with a significant cut on his face.
A jury convicted Garrett in December 2023 on charges of discharging a firearm during an armed robbery, armed habitual criminal, and aggravated battery by discharging a firearm, but he was not sentenced until this week.
Court records show Judge Charles Burns handed him 15 years for the robbery plus a 25-year sentencing enhancement for personally shooting the victim. Burns handed him 28 years on the aggravated battery count and merged the armed habitual criminal count into the other sentences. Clerk of court entries show Burns ordered the sentences to be served consecutively.
Garrett’s felony convictions include fleeing and eluding cases in 2019 and 2013; robbery in 2017 and twice in 2005; and retail theft in 2010 and 2016. In 2020, he received a seven-year sentence for driving while intoxicated and causing injury in Missouri, but the sentence was suspended and replaced with five years of probation, according to prosecutors.
