Waukegan man sentenced to 52 years in prison for 2011 murder
A Waukegan man convicted of killing a person during a 2011 auto theft was sentenced by a Lake County judge to 52 years in prison Tuesday, authorities said.
Kerwin P. Murry, 28, was officially sentenced to 37 years in prison for first-degree murder, and Judge George Strickland added 15 years because a firearm was used, Assistant Lake County State's Attorney Scott Hoffert said.
Murry is required to serve the entire sentence, Hoffert said. Murry is also required to serve three years on parole after his release from prison.
Murry received about six years of credit for time already served in Lake County jail, Hoffert said.
Murry was facing up to 75 years behind bars for killing Carlos Hernandez, 44, of Waukegan in December 2011.
Authorities said Murry and co-defendant Frederick Smith pointed a gun at Hernandez while the victim was seated in a relative's car on the 200 block of Hickory Street.
Murry and Smith took the car and drove with Hernandez for a couple of blocks, then shot him twice - in the abdomen and in the shoulder - authorities said.
Hernandez provided a description of the men to police before he died on the way to the hospital, authorities said.
Authorities found the vehicle abandoned two blocks from where Hernandez was shot.
Police and canine units tracked Murry and Smith for about two blocks to the Lakeside Towers apartment complex, where they were taken into custody.
The gun used in the shooting was found in a garbage can near the apartment complex.
Smith pleaded guilty to armed robbery in 2013 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
A third person was involved in the shooting, but he was never charged.