A split-second burst of road rage on an Elmhurst street has now turned into an 18-year prison stretch for a Melrose Park man.
On Tuesday, 31-year-old Angelo Navarro was sentenced to 18 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for a 2017 roadside shooting that left another driver gravely wounded in the face. Prosecutors said Navarro must serve most of that time behind bars before he can even think about parole.
According to Patch, state law requires Navarro to serve roughly 85 percent of the term, which could put any earliest release somewhere around 2041.
In a Facebook post, the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office announced the sentence and described the case as a stark example of how a routine traffic encounter can spiral into life-altering violence.
How the Shooting Unfolded
Elmhurst police were called to York Road and Diversey Avenue around 2:13 p.m. on Oct. 28, 2017, for what initially came in as a crash. When officers arrived, they found a 65-year-old driver who had been shot in the face, according to ABC7 Chicago. The victim was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital and underwent surgery.
Streets around the intersection were shut down for hours while investigators canvassed the area, pulled surveillance footage, and worked to piece together how a traffic dispute had turned into a shooting.
Trials and Appeals
The case did not take a straight line to Tuesday's sentencing. A jury convicted Navarro in October 2020 on multiple firearm counts, but the court later agreed with the defense that the verdicts were legally inconsistent and granted a motion for a new trial, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
That ruling sent the case back for further proceedings, stretching out a prosecution that had already been running for years.
Bench Trial and Sentence
Last fall, prosecutors opted for a three-day bench trial rather than another jury. In its public statement, the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office said Judge Daniel Guerin found Navarro guilty of aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated discharge of a firearm.
Prosecutors also asked the court to revoke Navarro's pretrial release ahead of sentencing. On Tuesday, Guerin imposed the 18-year prison term that will now keep Navarro in state custody well into the coming decades.
Legal Implications
Because of the 85 percent requirement, prosecutors said Navarro's effective time in custody will stretch far beyond the nominal 18-year number might suggest. The practical message is that the state treats gun violence in traffic disputes as more than just a bad day on the road.
Coverage of Navarro's earlier conviction captured prosecutors' assessment that "Mr. Navarro's violent actions that afternoon nearly cost the victim in this case his life," as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.
The sentence caps a nearly decade-long prosecution that began with the 2017 shooting, moved through a 2020 jury verdict and a court-ordered new trial, and finally wrapped with last fall's bench proceedings and this week's sentencing. Prosecutors closed their public comments with a familiar bit of advice that feels pointed here: do not escalate traffic disputes, and if a situation is spinning out of control, call 9-1-1 rather than trying to settle it yourself.
