Cop Killer Sentenced To 105 Years For Shooting Alejandro Valadez
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The gunman convicted in the fatal shooting of Chicago Police Officer Alejandro "Alex" Valadez was sentenced to 105 years in prison on Wednesday.
Christopher Harris, 24, was the third of three defendants to be found guilty on murder charges connected to the June 1, 2009, killing in a vacant Englewood lot.
"I think this sends a strong message to those people who want to take the law into their own hands and shoot. There's no place for that in our society," said Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.
A separate jury also found the getaway driver in the shooting, Kevin Walker, 25, guilty of the same murder charges last October. He was to be sentenced to 120 years in prison on Wednesday.
The pair's friend, reputed gang-banger Shawn Gaston, 24, is serving a 125-year sentence for his role in the deadly shooting.
Harris fired the shots that killed Valadez in the 6000 block of South Hermitage, according to State's Attorney Anita Alvarez and her assistant Jeffrey Allen.
Defense attorneys for Harris and Walker are now filing motions with the state appellate court to have these sentences reduced. Only Walker spoke in court, apologizing to the Valadez family and offering his condolences.
