A South Side man who was 17 when he gunned down a stranger after a brief shoulder bump outside an Avalon Park gas station in 2021 has been sentenced to 65 years in prison, concluding a case that stretched across nearly four years of litigation, a jury trial, and post-trial filings.
Jaebrel Miles already had a juvenile felony gun case pending when he killed 26-year-old Jeffrey King on the late morning of May 28, 2021, prosecutors said. Miles and a friend had walked to a gas station in the 8300 block of South Stony Island to get snacks around 11:30 a.m.
As they headed back toward a nearby house where they had been hanging out, King bumped into the friend on the sidewalk. Prosecutors said the men exchanged words but went their separate ways and King entered the gas station.
After going back to the home where they had been hanging out, Miles again went to the gas station with another friend. Surveillance video showed the men confronting King inside the business. Miles allegedly drew a gun and opened fire over his friend’s shoulder. The friend ducked, pulled out his own gun, and also fired at King.
King, struck several times, died.
Police arrested Miles later that day while he was riding in a Lyft. Officers reported finding a loaded handgun with a defaced serial number under the seat in front of him and baggies containing heroin, crack, and ecstasy inside his bag.
A jury found Miles guilty of four counts of murder in April 2024, but after lengthy post-trial legal maneuvers, Judge Angela Munari-Petrone only recently imposed the 65-year term, which Miles must serve in full. With credit for his time in custody, he is projected to be released on July 3, 2086.
But Miles’ legal exposure continues to grow. Court records show that he has 12 additional felony cases pending, all filed since he has been in jail, and most alleging aggravated battery of Cook County Sheriff’s Office employees. Any one of those could result in more time being added to his prison sentence.
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