A person who dragged a Chicago police officer together with his automotive throughout a 2021 visitors cease in Englewood, prompting the officer to fireside a shot at him that missed, was sentenced on Tuesday to 12 years in jail.
Prosecutors stated 40-year-old Jermaine Little was behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Malibu when officers pulled him over shortly earlier than 7 p.m. on August 13, 2021. Police had been responding to a ShotSpotter gunfire alert within the space and observed Little dashing away from the place the pictures had been detected.
Three uniformed officers approached the automobile and reportedly smelled burnt marijuana and a joint was seen in Little’s heart console, prosecutors stated. When one officer opened the motive force’s door and tried to take away Little, he allegedly pulled his arm free, grabbed the steering wheel, and threw the automotive into reverse.
The passenger-side door struck one officer, who managed to leap apart, however one other officer turned trapped between the open driver’s door and the transferring automotive. Prosecutors stated the officer was dragged backward as Little accelerated. The trapped officer fired a single spherical at Little however missed.
Little continued dragging the officer till the automotive hit a concrete lane divider and an SUV. He then drove ahead and fled, abandoning the Malibu a short while later.
The incident was captured on police body-worn cameras, and officers have been in a position to shortly determine Little as a result of he had handed over his driver’s license earlier than making an attempt to flee. The dragged officer sustained bruising throughout his decrease physique and quickly couldn’t bear weight on his proper ankle, in response to prosecutors.
Days later, police tracked Little to a automotive parked outdoors a Burger King on the South Facet, the place he was discovered hiding within the again seat. A backpack subsequent to him contained a loaded handgun, prosecutors stated. Courtroom data present Little has prior felony gun convictions from 2004, 2008, 2011, and 2017.
Little pleaded responsible Tuesday to tried homicide and aggravated illegal use of a weapon by a felon. Choose William Gamboney sentenced him to 12 years in jail for the tried homicide and a concurrent three-year time period on the weapons cost, in response to court docket data.
Protection attorneys famous that Little had been shot thrice since 2013, most lately in 2020.
Unique reporting you’ll see nowhere else, paid for by our readers. Click on right here to assist our work.
