10 years' prison for Elgin shooting, cocaine arrest
An Elgin man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty in the shooting of a 33-year-old man in May 2015 and another, unrelated drug arrest the next month.
Victor N. Rivera, 24, of the 1000 block of Prospect Avenue, was initially charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm in the shooting May 27 at an apartment on the 0-99 block of North Dubois Avenue in Elgin, according to police and court records.
Rivera also faced prison after an arrest in early June 2015 on charges he possessed nearly an ounce of cocaine, records show.
Kane County Judge John Barsanti accepted the guilty plea from Rivera, who also was said to have taunted the victim's brother after the shooting via text, according to a police affidavit.
In exchange for the guilty plea to aggravated discharge of a firearm, prosecutors dismissed the more severe charge of attempted murder.
According to prosecutors, the victim called Rivera to his residence at about 4 a.m. May 27, 2015, and they had an argument after talking on the front porch. The victim stood up to go inside, but Rivera shot him twice and left the area, prosecutors said.
Police were investigating the shooting but also investigating Rivera at the same time for possible drug dealing, prosecutors said. Elgin police stopped Rivera and another man on June 6, 2015, and found 27.5 grams of cocaine - or nearly an ounce - in Rivera's car, prosecutors said.
Authorities later obtained search warrants for the phone of Rivera and the shooting victim, who was hit in the neck, arm and abdomen, records show. According to a police affidavit used to secure the search warrant, the victim owed money to Rivera for drugs. The shooting woke up the victim's brother and the victim, although wounded, told his brother Rivera was the shooter.
The brother then texted Rivera, accusing him of the shooting. Rivera replied with a "smiley face" emoticon and the abbreviation "LOL," according to the affidavit.
Rivera was sentenced to eight years in prison on the gun charge and 10 years in prison on the cocaine charge. The sentences are to be served concurrently. He also gets credit for 416 days served at the Kane County jail since his arrest in June 2015.