Man pleads guilty to running over ex-girlfriend in Yorktown parking lot
Several days before he ran her over in a Yorktown Center parking lot in Lombard, Jose Aguirre texted his ex-girlfriend - the mother of his son - to tell her: "My son's going to be left alone. You are going to die this week," followed by an insulting profanity.
Aguirre, 48, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of attempted murder.
The crime carries a penalty of six to 30 years in prison, but DuPage County prosecutors have agreed to recommend Aguirre be sentenced to no more than 23 years. Judge Brian Telander will decide the sentence later, after the conclusion of a presentencing investigation about Aguirre.
Aguirre's next court date is Dec. 10.
Aguirre was driving a Ford Expedition when he ran down Yesenia Rodriguez at 7:30 a.m. Aug. 27, 2018, Assistant State's Attorney Michael Fisher said.
Fisher told Telander a witness was prepared to testify that he saw the vehicle speed up as it approached Rodriguez, who was in a parking lot near the Carson Pirie Scott store.
Rodriguez and Aguirre had dated for seven years.
Rodriguez would testify that she saw Aguirre laughing as he drove at her, Fisher said.
She suffered a broken jaw, pelvis, hip socket, pubic bone and sacrum, plus several broken ribs and vertebrae, in the attack.
Authorities said Aguirre also had called his son to tell him he was going to be left alone because his mother was going to die.
After hitting Rodriguez, Aguirre went to his adult daughter's home and told her and her boyfriend that he had killed Rodriguez and that he planned to flee to Mexico.
Aguirre, who lived in Cicero, was arrested the next day at a gasoline station in Northlake and has been held without bail since at the DuPage County jail.
"With today's guilty plea, Mr. Aguirre confirmed what his threats and actions already told us - that he intended to kill Yesenia," DuPage State's Attorney Berlin said in a written statement. "Thankfully, Mr. Aguirre was not successful in carrying out his threats. While Yesenia has been through an unbelievable amount of pain and suffering and will likely feel the effects of what Mr. Aguirre did to her for the rest of her life, she is still with us today."