A Montgomery man has been found guilty by a Kane County jury of murdering the boyfriend of the mother of his children during a high-speed car chase in October 2020.
32-year-old Chuckie E. Chatman had been upset that 40-year-old Ernest Hardy was dating the mother of his children, and had made threats against the woman.
On October 16, 2020, Chatman went to the woman’s residence on Best Place in Aurora, but she refused to let him inside. The woman called Hardy, who drove to her residence.
Around midnight, Hardy and the woman left in Hardy’s vehicle. Chatman began to follow them at high speed and Hardy accelerated north on Redwood Drive. A passenger in Chatman’s car whose identity is unknown to authorities fired multiple gunshots at Hardy’s vehicle, striking it four times. One of the gunshots struck a rear tire, causing the vehicle to skid out of control and strike a parked car.
Hardy suffered a fractured spine in the crash and died five days later. The woman, uninjured, climbed from the car before police arrived and ran home.
Yesterday, Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie L. Mosser announced that a jury has found Chatman guilty of the offenses of first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony.
After the verdict, Kane County Assistant State’s Attorney William Engerman stated “Mr. Chatman’s actions began and exacerbated a chain of events that directly led to the death of Ernest Hardy. He showed a distinct lack of appreciation for human life that our community does not tolerate.”
Judge Alice C. Tracy set Chatman’s next court appearance for 1:30 p.m. October 24, 2022, in Courtroom 313 at the Kane County Judicial Center for motions and sentencing. Chatman remains in custody at the Kane County jail, where he has been held in lieu of $1 million bail since his arrest. Judge Tracy revoked his bond upon conviction.
Chatman faces a minimum sentence of 39 years of imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
