A Kane County jury has convicted Rodolfo Cervantes Madrigal, a Streator man, of first-degree murder in the 2021 shooting death of Andrew Contreras, a 29-year-old Aurora man gunned down as he drove onto the Route 30 ramp in Montgomery with a 6-year-old child and a friend in the car. Neither of the passengers was struck by gunfire, though four bullets hit Contreras and killed him.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the shooting happened about 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 12, 2021, as Madrigal pulled his car alongside Contreras's vehicle, fired multiple shots into it, and drove away. Prosecutors say Contreras never had a chance to react before the gunfire tore into his car on the busy ramp.
Identification Took Nearly Two Years
It took the Montgomery Police Department close to two years to identify Madrigal as the shooter, and he was not arrested until October 2022, per the same account. During that stretch, investigators worked to connect him to the scene, and the case notes that Madrigal had attempted to switch his license plate with that of another car.
The jury this month convicted Madrigal not only of first-degree murder but also of personally discharging the firearm used in the killing, a finding that the article notes carries its own weight at sentencing. That firearm enhancement, according to the Tribune, results in a mandatory 25-year sentencing enhancement on top of whatever base sentence the court imposes.
Sentencing Exposure Remains Unsettled
How much time Madrigal ultimately faces depends on which account you read. The Tribune reported he faces a minimum of 45 years in prison when sentenced, while Shaw Local reported a minimum sentence of 71 years in prison, a figure also cited by Fox 32. The two outlets likewise diverge on the timing of the verdict itself — Shaw Local reported that a Kane County jury found Madrigal guilty on April 4, while the Tribune's report characterizes the conviction as news out of September 2026 — and on when Madrigal is due back in court, with the Tribune citing an Oct. 22 date and Shaw Local citing a May 23 hearing at 1:30 p.m.
What is not in dispute is where Madrigal sits now. He remains in custody at the Kane County jail as the case moves toward sentencing, the Tribune reports.
A Family Left Without Answers for Years
For nearly two years after Contreras was killed, his family had no arrest and no name attached to the gunman who opened fire on a Montgomery ramp in broad daylight. The Kane County State's Attorney's Office is credited with reporting on Madrigal's conviction, underscoring the office's role in prosecuting the case after the long identification process that preceded Madrigal's 2022 arrest.
