Carol Stream man pleads guilty to 2011 attempted murder

A Carol Stream man, days away from facing trial for the 2011 roadside shooting of his wife in Oakbrook Terrace, has pleaded guilty to attempted murder.

Ronald D. Smith, 37, of the 700 block of Bluff Street, pleaded guilty Thursday to attempted first-degree murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm. Prosecutors, defense attorneys and Judge Daniel Guerin also agreed Smith will serve 85 percent of a 31-year sentence when he is sentenced on Dec. 2.

Assistant State's Attorney Mike Pawl said Smith was armed and waiting for Aiesha Thomas in an Elmhurst parking lot outside her workplace just after 3 p.m. on July 5, 2011, when Thomas was picked up by her sister and two passengers.

After Smith gave chase, he said, the vehicle carrying Thomas lost control at a high rate of speed and spun out along Butterfield Road near Route 83. At that point, Smith approached with a handgun and fired into the back seat at Thomas.

Pawl said Smith shot the victim once as she raised her arms in self-defense, but his attempts to keep firing were thwarted when the gun jammed. Thomas then climbed into a pickup truck driven by a good Samaritan who had just witnessed the shooting.

Pawl said Smith continued to follow the truck and opened fire again, striking the truck as the driver turned in the direction of the Oakbrook Terrace police station.

Prosecutors said Smith surrendered to police about 7:30 that night and confessed he shot his wife with a gun he'd purchased in Maywood with the intent to kill himself.

They said he was distraught over his declining relationship with Thomas.

Smith has been held in DuPage County jail on $500,000 bail since the shooting and was scheduled to stand trial beginning Monday.