Stanford Thompson gets 33 years for fatally shooting Eugene Clark in 2013 at Englewood gas station

Jeff Mayes — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 15:10:55 -0500

By LEEANN SHELTON
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

A 27-year-old man was sentenced to 33 years in prison Friday after he pleaded guilty to fatally shooting Eugene Clark at an Englewood gas station two years ago.

Stanford Thompson | Chicago Police

Stanford Thompson pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder for the July 20, 2013, shooting that killed Clark, according to Chicago Police and Cook County court records.

Clark, 25, was pumping gas at a station in the 7100 block of South Ashland, and had just gotten back into his vehicle about 11:30 p.m. when Thompson ran up and shot him multiple times through the driver-side window, prosecutors said previously.

Two police officers heard the gunshots and saw Thompson running from the station with a gun in his hand, prosecutors said. Thompson looked in the direction of the officers and ran.

The officers chased him in their vehicle and on foot, and finally arrested him. They identified him as the man who fled with the gun, and a witness saw a man running from the lot who matched his clothing description.

Officers also recovered a loaded handgun from a gangway where he was seen after fleeing, prosecutors said.

Clark, of the 7900 block of South Karlov, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead about two hours later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Thompson admitted to detectives and an assistant state’s attorney that he shot Clark, according to prosecutors. The shooting was also caught on surveillance video.

Judge Domenica Stephenson accepted Friday’s plea and handed down the 33-year sentence, according to court records. Thompson will be required to serve 100 percent of the sentence, and will be given credit for roughly two years spent in Cook County Jail since his arrest.

Eugene Clark | Homicide Watch Chicago

Stanford Thompson gets 33 years for fatally shooting Eugene Clark in 2013 at Englewood gas station