Man gets 55 years for gunning down teen in Aurora
A judge Thursday sentenced a man to 55 years in prison for gunning down a teen in Aurora after trying to rob him during a 2015 deal for a small amount of marijuana.
Leon D. Williams, 23, of the 2400 block of North Farnsworth Avenue, Aurora, pleaded guilty earlier this year to first-degree murder, along with other felonies, in the shooting death of Daniel Sanchez, 19, also of Aurora, on Nov. 7, 2015.
The murder charge carried a punishment of 20 to 60 years in prison, but Williams also admitted to firing the fatal shot, which makes the penalty 45 years to natural life in prison.
Under state law, Williams must serve 100 percent of Judge D.J. Tegeler's sentence.
According to Kane County prosecutors, Sanchez agreed to sell a small amount of marijuana to Williams and another man, Keyonn S. Lovelace, 21, also of Aurora. The three met about noon at an agreed-upon location and Sanchez got into the back seat of a car driven by the Lovelace, 21. With Williams in the back seat, they drove to the 600 block of Elmwood Drive on the city's near west side to complete the deal.
While in the vehicle, Williams tried to rob Sanchez of his money and the drugs, prosecutors said. Sanchez tried to run away, but Williams chased him and fired two shots from a .25-caliber handgun, hitting Sanchez in the leg and head, prosecutors said. Williams and Lovelace sped away; police found Sanchez on the ground bleeding, and he died at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, authorities said.
Williams' bail was revoked after his guilty plea.
Lovelace also is charged with first-degree murder and was being held at the Kane County jail on $575,000. bail. He is due in court Wednesday.