Elgin man gets 24 years in downtown shooting

A 20-year-old man facing a possibility of life in prison for shooting a woman five times just blocks from the Elgin police station in October 2008 abruptly ended his attempted murder trial Monday, pleading guilty and taking a 24-year prison sentence.

By law, Emmanuel Perez, of Elgin, must serve 85 percent of the prison term or a little more than 18 years for the attempted murder of Briana Salinas.

At about 1:20 a.m. Oct. 31, Briana Salinas took her puppy outside her Elgin apartment just a few blocks away from the police station.

Three weeks later, she woke up from a coma after being shot five times at nearly point-blank range.

“She saw his arm raised and the next thing she remembers is waking up in a hospital three weeks later,” said Kane County Assistant State's Attorney Mark Stajdohar during opening statements.

Elgin police officers found Salinas lying on her back in a dark alley in the 200 block of Douglas Street near downtown Elgin after her brother called 911.

Police officers also testified that they found a gun hidden nearby, along with a box of 21 bullets in plastic grocery bag in a garbage bin. One of Perez's fingerprints was on the bag.

Perez, who was 18 at the time, was arrested less than 10 minutes after the shooting and charged Nov. 1, 2008.

Stajdohar said Perez had run-ins with Salinas in the weeks before the shooting, yelling, “I'm going to get you” and pointing his hand at her like a gun as he drove by Salinas while she was waiting for a bus three days before the shooting.

Stajdohar said Salinas, who turned 23 earlier this month, suffered terrible injuries from the shooting, needed a tracheotomy to survive, had to learn to walk again with a cane and still is missing part of her skull.

Several Elgin police officers testified about recovering the evidence before the prosecution called Salinas to the stand.

Before cross examining her, Perez, dressed in a suit with his black hair grown beyond his shoulders, and his defense attorney Vincent Solano had a short recess before returning to Judge Thomas Mueller when Perez pleaded guilty to aggravated battery with a firearm.

“We're very pleased. We feel that justice was served,” said Stajdohar, who prosecuted the case with Kelly Orland.