A DeKalb man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison after a gruesome 2021 shooting incident that left another man with severe facial injuries, ultimately contributing to a lengthy court case that concluded this year. According to a statement obtained by the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office, Ahmad Steele, aged 38, was convicted of attempted first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery with a firearm.
The incident took place on the evening of January 28, 2021, when Steele, for reasons that remain unclear, decided to maliciously shoot an innocent man in the face with a shotgun. The victim, who was sitting in his car during a dinner break from his job at Mapei Corporation, was approached and shot by Steele, who then fled the scene. The case, which took years to reach a verdict, was handled by DuPage County Judge Daniel Guerin, who administered the lengthy 45-year sentence. Steele is now in an enforced position to serve 85% of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
The trial, which spanned three days last month, led to a jury verdict on March 21, 2025. It took merely two hours for the jury to find Steele guilty on all charges. "On a cold January evening, for no apparent reason at all, Ahmad Steele approached a man unknown to him as he sat in his car on dinner break, and shot him in the face with a shotgun," as provided by State's Attorney Robert Berlin. Following the incident, the victim had to undergo five surgeries to reconstruct his jaw, and though he eventually succumbed to an unrelated illness in 2023, the attack itself left an indelible mark on the community and the justice system.
