30 years for shooting near Elgin school

A Rockford man was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison for his role in a 2007 shooting near an Elgin youth football game.

Denarrell D. Mabry, 21, must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence handed down by Kane County Judge Allen M. Anderson, who convicted him of attempted first-degree murder in October.

At a sentencing hearing Friday, Anderson said Mabry threatened dozens of lives around him Sept. 8, 2007, when he fired six gunshots at a vehicle less than 1,000 feet away from a Pee-Wee football game at Huff Elementary School. He said he hoped a lengthy prison term would help deter others from committing similar acts of violence.

"Nobody was hit, but many people have been hurt by your actions," the judge told Mabry. "These children and parents are terrified of a shooting."

Mabry testified he shot in self-defense as the vehicle full of people came after him at Hastings Street and Illinois Avenue. Prosecutors argued he aimed to kill.

Mabry faced a maximum sentence of 44 years, plus a mandatory 20-year add-on because he was a paroled felon when he committed the crime. He will be at least 46 years old before he is eligible for release.

Mabry's mother pleaded for the judge's leniency Friday, saying her son was abandoned by his father and "did the best he could to be there for himself, to raise himself as a man. He deserves to have a chance in this world."

Mabry's brother, Larrell Cannon, 25, currently is serving a six-year prison term in connection with the same shooting. In May, Cannon pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a weapon by a felon for briefly handling the gun used in the crime as his brother fled.