Gabriel Johnson / Photo from Cook County Sheriff’s office
BY LEEANN SHELTON
Sun-Times Media
Two men were sentenced to prison Tuesday for their roles in a police chase that ended in a crash that killed an acquaintance in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood in August 2014.
Gabriel E. Johnson, 18, and Dontrell Reese, 20, and Wally Flex, 16, were in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo trying to outrun police on Aug. 14, 2014, when the car spun out and crashed near West 80th Street and South Lowe Avenue, prosecutors said.
Flex, a 16-year-old backseat passenger, suffered a broken neck from the crash and died at the scene, authorities said.
Before the crash, police officers investigating a nearby gang-related shooting noticed the Monte Carlo, which had a broken rear window, circling the area of the shooting, prosecutors said.
The officers attempted to stop the car, but the driver sped away. Officers watched the car hit a speed bump, disobey two stops signs and eventually crash into a light pole and flip over, prosecutors said.
The driver, Johnson, later tested positive for marijuana, prosecutors said. Emergency personnel found a loaded revolver tucked in his waistband after he was cut out of the wreckage, prosecutors said.
Reese tossed away a black .32 caliber revolver after climbing out of a passenger side window, prosecutors said.
Johnson, of the 6800 block of South Champlain Avenue, pleaded guilty Tuesday to reckless homicide, aggravated DUI and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, according to court records.
Reese, of the 7500 block of South Eggleston Avenue, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a weapon, according to court records.
Judge Joseph G. Kazmierski sentenced both men to four years each in prison.