Wheeling teen sentenced to boot camp

Eighteen-year-old Leonardo Zaragoza likely caught the break of his young life Thursday when Cook County Judge Thomas Fecarotta sentenced him to a type of boot camp instead of prison for two separate but related incidents last summer.

Zaragoza, of the 200 block of W. Wayne in Wheeling, was charged with communicating with a witness after he threatened to kill a man who was to testify against Jobanie Rodriguez, 19, of the 800 block of Colonial Drive in Wheeling. Police say Zaragoza and Rodriguez belonged to the same gang.

Rodriguez was convicted last month of aggravated discharge of a firearm for shooting off a gun in a Wheeling parking lot last summer and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Zaragoza received a $10,000 bond for threatening the witness after the shooting. The bond included a no-contact order, which he violated. When Wheeling police attempted to arrest him near the complaining witness' residence, prosecutors say Zaragoza fought with the officer. He was then charged with a second offense, aggravated battery of a police officer.

Before sentencing Zaragoza, Fecarotta asked the police officer to step up, then pointedly asked Zaragoza if he had anything to say.

"I'm sorry," said Zaragoza, who claimed he was no longer affiliated with the gang. "I was just scared. I'll never do it again."

Fecarotta took note of Zaragoza's age in sentencing him to the Cook County's Impact Incarceration Program, which runs 120 to 180 days.

"I don't take pleasure in sending people to the penitentiary," he said.

The judge concluded his remarks with a warning to Zaragoza that if he fails to complete the program satisfactorily, Fecarotta will resentence him to consecutive prison terms, which could be up to a maximum of 12 years on the combined charges.