CHICAGO (WLS) — A convicted felon has been sentenced in a July 2022 shooting of a Chicago police officer on the Near West Side.
Jalen Vales, 27, was sentenced to 25 years in prison, officials said Sunday.
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Vales pled guilty last week to two counts of attempted first-degree murder.
A CPD officer was gravely injured while attending to a domestic incident shortly before 8:30 a.m. on July 1, 2022, in the 1300 block of West Taylor Street.
Authorities reported that a woman dialed 911, stating her daughter was sending her text messages indicating that her live-in boyfriend, known to possess a weapon, had attacked her.
It became known in court in 2022 that the woman had made six police reports against Vales for domestic violence incidents.
According to officials, the girlfriend was in her apartment with Vales when an argument erupted concerning a cell phone issue. She sent text messages to her mother, urging her to contact the police, as she feared he might harm her.
Two uniformed officers then responded to the Taylor Street Apartments, taking the elevator up.
When the elevator door opened, Vales was hiding around a corner next to the elevators, prosecutors said. Armed with a nine-millimeter semi-automatic handgun, Vales yelled “there go police right there!” He jumped in front of the officers, pointed a handgun at them and opened fire multiple times.
A male officer who is a 15-year veteran of the department was shot five times, including once in his abdomen beneath his vest and twice in his right arm, officials said in court. The second officer was not struck.
CPD officers did not return fire. There were at least two other people inside the residence.
Officials called it an ambush attempt and officers had no time to react.
“This was a straight up execution attempt. This officer did not unholster his weapon, he had no time to react. The elevator doors opened and the offender just started shooting. He tried to kill him,” John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said at the time.
The officer was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital where he was listed in serious condition before undergoing surgery. He survived the shooting.
Minutes after the shooting, over a dozen officers converged on a man seen lying shirtless on the ground with his hands on his head, according to video from the scene. He was taken into custody in the 1300-block of West Washburne Avenue and a gun was recovered after a search, Brown said.
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