CHICAGO – A man accused of shooting at Chicago police last year while on parole and bail has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Earnest Lockett, 26, was on parole on two gun charges and had skipped bail in an ongoing stolen vehicle case when he encountered Chicago police on June 5, 2023, around 7 p.m.
Officers went to the 5900 block of South Yale that evening after a ShotSpotter detected gunfire nearby and found a man at the scene with a gunshot wound to his arm, prosecutors said.
Surveillance footage showed Lockett and other gunmen exchanging gunfire with the wounded man before escaping in a black Jeep, court documents show. Officials said two uniformed Chicago police officers, driving a marked patrol car, spotted the Jeep nearby and attempted to pull it over.
The driver of the Jeep ran from the officers after they activated their lights and sirens. Prosecutors said she was driving the wrong way through the streets and ran a red light when Lockett shot at the police car from a side window.
The woman eventually crashed into a concrete wall in the 5900 block of South Ashland, and four of the vehicle’s five occupants tried to escape, CPD said. Police arrested them all, including a man in critical condition with a gunshot wound to his chest.
Police found a 9-millimeter MAC-11 pistol on the rear passenger floorboard, from which Lockett allegedly fired. Prosecutors said Lockett admitted to owning the gun but claimed he never fired it.
This week, Lockett pleaded guilty to aggravated discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle and an armed habitual criminal. Judge Charles Burns imposed the 12-year prison sentence and told Lockett he had to serve at least 85% of the time before he was eligible for release. Prosecutors dropped multiple charges of attempted murder and other crimes in Lockett’s plea deal.
The case involving the stolen car for which Lockett was released on bail is still pending.
