Gang Member Gets 80 Years In Prison For Fatally Shooting Man In 2017

AURORA, IL — A 29-year-old Aurora gang member guilty of firing the gun that killed Rodolfo Rocha in 2017 was sentenced to 80 years in prison, officials said.

Anthony Medina, of the 1100 block of Gates Street, will join fellow gang member and co-defendant Martin Garcia, Jr., in prison.

In 2020, 26-year-old Garcia, of the 600 block of North Root Street, was sentenced to 75 years in prison after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder, armed violence and unlawful possession of a firearm by a street gang member.

On the morning of June 10, 2017, Rocha was spending time with friends and family outside a Grove Street home when Medina and his co-defendant Martin Garcia, Jr., 27, approached the group to declare a gang affiliation.

When told they weren't gang members, the two men pulled out their guns and fatally shot Rocha. During the shooting, Medina also shot Garcia in the abdomen and hit Rocha's car, according to evidence presented by Assistant State’s Attorneys Lori Anderson, David Belshan and Hillary Sadler.

No one else was injured, officials said.

Earlier this year, in February, Medina was found guilty of first-degree murder, armed violence and aggravated battery with a firearm, Patch reported.

Medina appeared in court for sentencing April 14, where he was given 35 years for first-degree murder, plus a mandatory 25-year enhancement for discharging the gun that killed Rocha. He was also sentenced to 20 years for armed violence and 10 years for aggravated battery, according to KCSA officials.

He must serve 100 percent of his murder sentence and is eligible for day-to-day credit for the armed violence and aggravated battery sentences, officials said. The murder and armed violence sentences have to be served consecutively and the aggravated battery sentence will be served concurrent to the other sentences.

Medina will receive credit for the 1,767 days he has served in Kane County jail.

"Mr. Medina received a prison sentence that is likely to keep him behind bars for the rest of his life," Anderson said in a statement. "It is a sentence he earned through his poor choices, his loyalty to the gang lifestyle and his affinity for guns and violent behavior. His dangerous conduct on June 10, 2017 – he fired at least 12 gunshots in the direction of seven people – could well have led to multiple murders. He has two prior felony gun convictions, and he has been involved in gang activity since he was 13 years old."

She continued: "My thanks to ASAs Belshan and Sadler, and to the Aurora Police Department, particularly Detective Crista Rees and retired Det. Guillermo Trujillo, both of whom played a pivotal role in these convictions."