Prospect Heights teen gets 8 years in gang-related shooting
A Prospect Heights teenager pleaded guilty Wednesday to firing a gun at rival gang members after they got off a school bus last October near Piper Lane and Pinecrest Drive.
Eduardo Lopez, 19, of the 600 block of Pinecrest Drive, pleaded guilty to aggravated discharge of a firearm, which is punishable by four to 15 years in prison. A Cook County judge sentenced Lopez to eight years in prison, with credit for the 223 days he has been in custody since his arrest. Lopez also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a gang member, for which he received a five-year sentence. The sentences will run concurrently.
No one was injured in the shooting in Prospect Heights, which resulted from an “ongoing gang issue and presence,” Prospect Heights police said at the time.
A caller told police two men were firing shots at two other men who were fleeing the scene in a minivan, authorities said. Many young children were nearby at the school bus stop.
Witnesses told police that the rival gang members exchanged words and gang slogans just before Lopez pulled out a handgun and chased the other teens across Piper Lane into a nearby parking lot. Lopez then fired into the minivan as the victims tried to flee, police said.