90 total years in prison for Aurora man who killed 2 in 2005
An Aurora man already serving a 55-year prison sentence for a 2005 gang initiation murder was sentenced this week to 35 more years in prison for a second murder committed just 24 days after the first one.
The sentences for Chavez K. Saulsberry, 29, mean he will spend the rest of his life in prison, as the sentence will run until after his 100th birthday; his case was delayed because he was 15 at the time of the slayings.
"This defendant at a young age chose a life of violence, preferring to threaten a community as a member of a criminal street gang instead of helping to build a community through a productive and positive life, and improve his own life through work and education," said Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon. "His poor decisions cost him his freedom."
Kane County Judge James Hallock sentenced Saulsberry on Monday after a jury convicted him in late 2015 of the November 2005 murder of Michael Moore, 27, and the attempted murder of his friend.
According to prosecutors, Saulsberry was a passenger in a Ford minivan with other gang members the morning of Nov. 28, 2005, and they were hunting for other rival gang members to kill. The men in the van saw a white 1995 Oldsmobile 98 with Moore and his friend at the intersection of Smith Street and East Galena Boulevard.
The van pulled along the left side of the car, a co-defendant opened the van's sliding door and Saulsberry opened fire with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, killing Moore and wounding his friend, prosecutors said.
Saulsberry was sentenced to 25 years for Moore's murder and 10 years for attempted murder.
Saulsberry's sentencing after the 2015 trial was delayed due to juvenile court law issues; Monday's sentence will be served after Saulsberry's 55-year prison term for a Nov. 4, 2005, gang initiation shooting death of Montrell Fluellen, 21, of Aurora.
Saulsberry was not eligible for a mandatory life sentence because he was a juvenile when he committed both murders, prosecutors said.
Assistant State's Attorneys Mark D. Stajdohar, Kelly M. Orland and Bianca Camargo prosecuted the case.