On the evening of November 20, 2021, Johnathan T. McDonald of Aurora inexplicably, almost politely, knocked on the door of an acquaintance, waited to be let in, and then promptly struck the acquaintance in the head with a hammer. He waited for the victim to regain consciousness, then stuck him again in the head.
Yesterday, the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office announced that McDonald has agreed to a sentence of 20 years of imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections in exchange for a guilty plea to the offense of attempt first-degree murder, Class X felony.
“There was no clear motivation for Mr. McDonald’s heinous, violent and unprovoked attack,” said Assistant State’s Attorney Mark D. Stajdohar . “Their relationship before this brutal incident had been friendly. Thanks to Officer Jesus Aguila and the rest of the Aurora Police Department for their work on this investigation, and to victim advocate Alex Dring.”
Judge Alice C. Tracy accepted the plea.
In accordance with Illinois law, McDonald must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence. He receives credit for 411 days served in the Kane County jail, where he had been held since his arrest in lieu of $1 million bail.
