Man gets 67 years for trying to kill ex's new boyfriend in Aurora
A man who tried to murder his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend was sentenced Friday to 67 years in prison.
Enrique Jaquez, 43, of the 300 block of Pearl Street in Montgomery, could have been sentenced to natural life. The minimum he faced was 31 years.
He was convicted in November of attempted first-degree murder, home invasion and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
According to prosecutors, on March 27, 2015, Jaquez, armed with a handgun, went to his ex-girlfriend's home in Aurora. He demanded the man come out to the front lawn, and when the man refused to do so, Jaquez broke the bottom of a screen door and crawled in.
He then shot the boyfriend in the back. The shots damaged the man's liver, stomach, diaphragm and one lung, Kane County Assistant State's Attorney Jake Matekaitis said in court Friday. Part of the stomach had to be removed, and the victim continues to have digestive problems and back pain, Matekaitis said.
Jaquez was arrested in September 2018 when he entered the United States from Mexico.
"We cannot allow people to think this kind of behavior, this kind of gun violence, will be tolerated by this community," Matekaitis said.
Jaquez, when offered the chance to make a statement, told Barsanti, "I didn't do it. I'm innocent."
Barsanti sentenced Jaquez to six years each on the attempted murder and home invasion convictions, plus 25-year add-ons to both counts for using a gun. He gave Jaquez five years on the aggravated unlawful use of a weapon conviction.
The sentences must be served consecutively. Jaquez will have to serve at least 55 years before being eligible for parole.