In January 2021, 17-year-old Ishmail Gonzalez shot and permanently paralyzed a woman while attempting a carjacking in an Aurora restaurant parking lot. He will now serve a minimum of 34 years in prison.
Gonzalez has agreed to a sentence of 40 years of imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections in exchange for a guilty plea to the offenses of aggravated battery with a firearm, Class X felony, and armed violence, Class X felony. Judge John A. Barsanti accepted the plea.
According to Illinois law, Gonzalez must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence.
At approximately 4 p.m. on January 16, 2021, in a restaurant parking lot in the 1200 block of North Orchard Road, Aurora, Gonzalez and three others stole a car. During the theft they struggled with the car owner who was seated inside, pushing and pulling her in an attempt to remove her from the vehicle. Gonzalez then fired at least three shots from a handgun. One bullet struck the victim, leaving her permanently paralyzed.
“The shooting that left this victim paralyzed was the culmination of an afternoon of violence by these defendants,” stated Assistant State’s Attorney Mark D. Stajdohar. “No one will ever begin to understand Mr. Gonzalez’s cold-hearted decision to shoot this victim, especially given that she was outnumbered, 4 to 1. His cowardly choices stand in stark contrast to the victim, who is courageously rebuilding her life.”
“Mr. Gonzalez’s decision to engage in violence altered many lives, including his own,” added Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser. “This brave victim will forever live a life affected by Mr. Gonzalez and his co-defendants. Mr. Gonzalez will spend the majority of the rest of his life in prison where he deserves to be so that he can no longer harm people in our community.”
Gonzalez is the second person to be convicted and sentenced in the case. Co-defendant Edward McGee previously pleaded guilty to the offense of aggravated vehicular hijacking and received a sentence of 35 years in prison. The case of a third co-defendant is pending.
