Melrose Park man sentenced to 18 years for Elmhurst road rage shooting

A man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison in a road rage shooting more than eight years ago in Elmhurst.

Angelo Navarro, 31, of Melrose Park, was sentenced Tuesday morning by DuPage County Judge Daniel Guerin.

A jury convicted Navarro in September of aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated discharge of a firearm, both felonies. He was acquitted of attempted murder.

It was the second trial in the case because, in 2020, a judge overturned another jury’s verdicts, finding they were legally inconsistent, and granted Navarro a new trial.

The shooting happened around 2 p.m. Oct. 28, 2017, near York Road and Diversey Avenue. Police were called to a crash. They found a car with a shattered driver’s-side window. The driver had been shot in the left cheek, with the bullet exiting his right cheek.

Police said Navarro and the victim were waiting to make a left turn at an intersection, with Navarro in front of the victim.

The victim pulled around Navarro and drove away. Navarro followed, pulled into the oncoming traffic lane next to the victim and fired the gun through his front passenger-side window.

Navarro will have to serve 85% of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

He was held in jail for five years after his 2017 arrest, until he posted $150,000 bond. He was taken into custody again in September after his conviction. He received credit for the time he spent in jail.

Navarro was also ordered to pay $16,000 in restitution to the victim.