An Indianapolis man who drove all the way to Chicago with a gun, showed up at his ex’s house, and then shot an innocent bystander received a 9-year sentence on Wednesday.
Gregory Mulkey, 33, received the sentence from Judge Aleksandra Gillespie after pleading guilty to aggravated discharge of a firearm toward an occupied vehicle, court records show.
In September 2023, Gillespie’s girlfriend of about six months broke up with him due to his increasingly “irrational” behavior, prosecutors said. Four days later, Mulkey allegedly drove from Indianapolis to his ex’s Albany Park apartment building in the 3700 block of West Leland.
He first approached a man sitting in a car behind the building and accused him of “being with” his ex, prosecutors alleged. Mulkey tried to hold onto the side of the man’s car as he drove away.
A neighbor called 911 after hearing Mulkey yelling his ex’s name while exhibiting “extreme instability,” according to prosecutors.
Minutes later, as another neighbor was cleaning up outside her home, Mulkey returned with a handgun. Prosecutors said the woman saw him with the weapon and sprinted into her home as Mulkey fired the gun. A bullet struck the 20-year-old woman’s foot, which was still outside the doorway.
The woman, who has no connection with Mulkey or his ex, received seven stitches to close a through-and-through gunshot wound. Doctors said she suffered severe nerve and tissue damage, according to prosecutors.
Before police arrived, Mulkey moved to the front of the apartment building, crouched down, assumed a shooting stance, and fired another round before hiding in some bushes near a school, officials alleged.
As police were investigating the situation, Mulkey returned to the scene and jumped into a squad car, claiming that someone had shot at him, prosecutors claimed. The cops spoke with witnesses and quickly realized that the man they were looking for was already sitting in their squad.
Officers also found a gun that Mulkey’s ex said she knew he owned. And while he was in the police lockup, a bullet fell from his pocket that matched evidence found at the crime scene, prosecutors said.
Mulkey’s sentence will be halved for good behavior and further reduced by 593 days of credit he earned while awaiting trial.
