Teen gets 22 years for midday Addison murder

A teen will spend much of his future behind bars for a brazen gang murder in a crowded Addison strip mall.

Jhony Aragon, 16, was sentenced Friday to 22 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder. He must serve all of that sentence. The case against his co-defendant, Matthew C. Cruz, also 16 and facing similar charges, still is in plea negotiations.

The shooting - in broad daylight across from the police station - left 14-year-old Francisco J. Baiza dead.

Gunfire rang out about 4 p.m. Aug. 21, 2007, after the defendants approached Francisco in the parking lot of the Green Meadows Shopping Center, 110 W. Lake St., Addison.

All three boys lived in Addison. At the time, an unarmed Francisco was with his friends - including Cruz's younger brother. Francisco was applying for a job in one of the shops but came back outside to retrieve his Social Security card.

Prosecutor Steven Knight said Aragon and Cruz both opened fire, each discharging a .25-caliber semi-automatic handgun, after accusing Francisco of being in a rival gang.

Aragon's gun fired one bullet, likely toward the ground, as he took it out of a bag. Cruz is accused of firing three to five times, standing as close at 10 feet from the victim.

Francisco died after being shot three times in the chest and stomach. Police soon tracked down Aragon and Cruz in a nearby apartment complex. Detectives also recovered both handguns in a closet.

Knight said both teens made videotaped statements to police in which they admitted taking part in the shooting, which they said was not planned.

The teens have been in custody at the DuPage County youth home since the shooting. Cruz is due in court Feb. 26.

"Senseless gang violence has claimed another victim," DuPage State's Attorney Joseph Birkett said. "Young people and their parents have got to get the message that if you join a gang, you are bound for one of two destinations: the penitentiary or the graveyard."

DuPage Circuit Judge Blanche Hill Fawell presided over Friday's plea deal. Though both defendants are minors, the law requires prosecutors to charge them as adults because they were 15 at the time of the murder. They could not, however, face a possible death sentence.

The victim's mother was in court, but she declined an opportunity to make a statement.