Getaway driver in Bensenville slaying sentenced to 8 years
The getaway driver during the 2014 attempted robbery and fatal shooting of a Bensenville convenience store clerk was sentenced Friday to eight years in prison.
Tremayne Davis, 26, of Chicago pleaded guilty in February to a single count of attempted armed robbery in exchange for first-degree murder charges being dropped.
Judge Daniel Guerin imposed the sentence Friday morning, two weeks after Davis upheld his end of the deal and testified against the gunman who killed Hussein Saghir during the January 2014 heist.
Stephan Russell, 23, of Chicago was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery Nov. 18 and is awaiting sentencing.
Davis has been in custody since his February 2014 arrest and may be released in less than a year. But prosecutors still expect him to testify truthfully against a third man, also now charged in the murder of Saghir.
Earlier this week prosecutors reinstated murder and attempted armed robbery charges against 23-year-old Kenneth Bardlett of Chicago as they withdrew the plea agreement he signed March 27, 2014.
Bardlett pleaded guilty in March 2014 to attempted armed robbery, and prosecutors agreed to cap their sentence request at 20 years in prison. But the deal was withdrawn Monday after prosecutors deemed that Bardlett's testimony against Russell was not truthful.
Bardlett testified during Russell's trial that Russell was never in the van or involved in the crime. At the time of Bardlett's arrest, however, he identified Russell as the gunman and told police that he needed protection from fellow gang members.
Saghir and his brother were closing Sam's Tobacco and Food Mart at 235 W. Irving Park Road around 5:45 p.m. Jan. 19, 2014, when they were confronted by Russell and Bardlett.
Prosecutors say video shows Bardlett grabbed Saghir's brother and attempted to drag him back into the store while Russell kept a handgun pointed at Saghir.
When Saghir refused to re-enter the store, apparently to protect his 3-year-old nephew inside, Russell fired one shot from a black revolver over Saghir's head, the bullet lodging in the door frame.
Saghir continued to struggle outside the store and Russell fired one shot below Saghir's right armpit that pierced both of his lungs and his heart.
The pair and Davis, who remained in the minivan during the robbery, immediately fled to Chicago.
Davis must serve half of the sentence, and he receives credit for 1,317 days already served, which includes time served related to a previous felony charge.