Current:Home > Contact-usTeen sentenced after pleading guilty to 2022 shooting near Chicago high school that killed 2 teens-InfoLens
Teen sentenced after pleading guilty to 2022 shooting near Chicago high school that killed 2 teens
View Date:2024-12-23 17:12:44
CHICAGO (AP) — A teenager who pleaded guilty to a 2022 shooting near a Chicago high school that killed two teens and wounded two others has been sentenced to more than four decades in prison.
A Cook County judge sentenced Christian Acevedo, 18, after he pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in the Dec. 16, 2022, shooting outside the Benito Juarez Community Academy.
The shooting on Chicago’s southwest side killed Brandon Perez, 15, and Nathan Billegas, 14, and injured two other teens shortly after classes were dismissed.
Acevedo, who was 16 at the time, was charged as an adult in February 2023 in the attack.
A judge sentenced Acevedo on Monday to 46 years in prison, including 20 years for each murder count, and another six years on the attempted murder charge. Acevedo must serve all 40 years on the murder charges and 85% of the six-year sentence, meaning he faces no less than 45 years in prison, said his attorney, Nicholas Giordano.
He called the shooting a “tragedy all around” during Monday’s hearing.
“The whole thing was unfortunate. Two people were killed and he’s taking responsibility for it. But he’ll be spending a significant part of his entire life behind bars,” Giordano told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Acevedo had attended the Benito Juarez Community Academy during the 2021-22 academic year but prosecutors said he was expelled for behavior, academic and attendance issues. Perez was a student at the school, while Billegas attended Chicago Bulls College Prep, police said.
Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Bonnie Greenstein said Monday that shortly before the shooting, Acevedo approached a group that included Perez and Billegas and asked if they identified with the street gang “La Raza.”
Greenstein said that in response, Perez asked why he wanted to know and that Acevedo turned as if to walk away before he turned around and fired at the group, the Chicago Tribune reported.
veryGood! (37)
Related
- Lala Kent Swears by This Virgo-Approved Accessory and Shares Why Stassi Schroeder Inspires Her Fall Style
- House Republicans are mired in chaos after ousting McCarthy and rejecting Scalise. What’s next?
- How inflation's wrath is changing the way Gen Z spends money
- Real relationship aside, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are 100% in a PR relationship
- Bitcoin has topped $87,000 for a new record high. What to know about crypto’s post-election rally
- Mississippi sheriff aims to avoid liability from federal lawsuit over torture of Black men
- Allow Alix Earle's Hair Transformation to Influence Your Fall Tresses
- Barrage of bomb threats emailed to schools cancels classes across the Baltic countries
- These Michael Kors’ Designer Handbags Are All Under $150 With an Extra 22% off for Singles’ Day
- NYC lawmaker arrested after bringing a gun to protest at Brooklyn College
Ranking
- Messi breaks silence on Inter Miami's playoff exit. What's next for his time in the US?
- Golden Bachelor's Joan Vassos Shares Family Update After Shocking Exit
- When it comes to heating the planet, the fluid in your AC is thousands of times worse than CO2
- Holiday shipping deadlines: Postal carriers announce schedule early this year
- US wholesale inflation picks up slightly in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
- California will give some Mexican residents near the border in-state community college tuition
- Joran van der Sloot expected to plead guilty in Natalee Holloway extortion case
- How the Google Pixel 8 stacks up against iPhone 15
Recommendation
-
Federal judge orders Oakland airport to stop using ‘San Francisco’ in name amid lawsuit
-
Prince George and Prince William Support Wales at Rugby World Cup in France
-
Louvre Museum and Versailles Palace evacuated after bomb threats with France on alert
-
Missouri auditor investigates St. Louis jail amid concerns about management and treatment of inmates
-
Father, 5 children hurt in propane tank explosion while getting toys: 'Devastating accident'
-
Palestinians flee south after Israel calls for evacuation of northern Gaza
-
How Chloé Lukasiak Turned Her Toxic Dance Moms Experience Into a Second Act
-
Finding your place in the galaxy with the help of Star Trek