“I’ll be out in a minute,” Antwane Nash said over his shoulder moments after he was sentenced to 20 years in prison Monday for a 2009 North Chicago murder.
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His comment was part of a short back-and-forth with the victim’s family and friends after the sentencing, an exchange that was quickly quashed by Judge Mark Levitt.
After Nash was sentenced, someone in the gallery said “good luck with that” as corrections officers were leading Nash away, prompting the brief exchange.
Saying he would not allow outbursts in court, Levitt looked at the gallery and said “one more comment and you will be joining him.”
Nash pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of 23-year-old Emmanuel Johnson of North Chicago in exchange for the 20-year-sentence, which must be served at 100 percent. He could have faced 45 years to life in prison if convicted at trial.
Assistant State’s Attorney Ari Fisz said Nash shot Johnson 15 times while standing behind him on June 24, 2009. The shooting occurred a few blocks from Johnson’s home.
Prosecutors made no allegations with regard to a motive, but Fisz said the shooting was not gang-related.
Johnson’s mother, Sudie Gordon, who cried while making a statement in court Monday and needed assistance stepping down from the stand, had previously told the News-Sun “the person who killed my son just hated him.”
“We’re very pleased that Mr. Nash has finally taken responsibility for killing Emmanuel Johnson,” Fisz said after the negotiated plea was finalized.
Attorney David Weinstein, who represented Nash, had no comment after the sentencing.
Nash, 33, was indicted in 2014 on murder charges after the case had appeared to go cold. He had pleaded not guilty to three enhanced counts of first-degree murder.
Before his arrest, the case was turned over to the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, which worked leads until they ran into a dead end. It was then transferred back to North Chicago police and became a cold case assigned to a detective.
The break in the case came when Chicago police executed a search warrant and turned up a gun in the city, and ballistic tests identified it as the weapon used in Johnson’s murder, according to North Chicago police.
The gun was reportedly linked to Nash, who was in prison on unrelated drug charges at the time.
During her statement, Gordon said “a part of me was taken when Emmanuel was killed. My life has changed since that day.”
Gordon said she has raised Johnson’s daughter, and it has been the only thing to keep her going.
“Not only was my son taken, but my granddaughter’s father was also taken,” she said. “She will never know how special her father was. Every day I look at her and see my son.”
Gordon said she has started a support group for parents and families of murder victims.
“I wanted something good to come out of his death,” she said. “This is the good that has come out of Emmanuel’s death.”
Nash has been held in Lake County Jail in lieu of $3 million bond since his arrest. He will be given credit toward his prison term for serving 824 days in jail.
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