CHICAGO — A judge has sentenced a reputed Chicago street-gang member to 90 years in prison in the shooting death of a 17 year-old pregnant woman.
Prosecutors say 23-year-old Timothy Jones fatally shot Charinez Jefferson in 2011 after trying to shoot a rival gang member walking next to her. Jefferson was seven months pregnant at the time.
A statement from the Cook County state’s attorney’s office says Jones was sentenced Monday.
Jurors last year convicted Jones of first-degree murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm. One witness at trial testified that Jefferson told Jones she was pregnant and begged him not to shoot her.
Prosecutors say Jefferson’s baby was delivered by emergency surgery shortly after the shooting, but remains severely injured and relies on a ventilator to breathe.
“She kept begging for her life, and he still shot her,” witness Romell VanTrease, 31, testified during his trial. “She begged for her life ... said, ‘I’m pregnant.’ ”
Jones’ mother issued a statement. “I watched you during the trial and you showed no remorse. So maybe you wouldn’t know how I feel,” the mother, Debbie Jefferson, had told Jones, according to the Chicago Tribune. “From this day forward, when you open and close your mouth and eyes, and you are still able to walk and talk, stop and take a minute and think about the lives you destroyed.”
“All of your sleepless nights and dreary days, I pray you ask God for forgiveness and to have mercy on your soul,” her statement read.
Epoch Times contributed to this report, adding quotes from Jones and VanTrease.
