85 years for shooter of Crane student

2003 incident left 15-year-old dead

10/21/2009 10:00 PM

BY MICAH MAIDENBERG
Editor

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Earl Faber has received an 85-year sentence for the 2003 shooting incident near Crane High School that left a 15-year-old student at the Near West Side institution dead.

Faber pleaded not guilty to the charges of murder and aggravated battery, the latter added for a driver who was injured during the melee. A jury voted to convict in August, and Judge Steven Goebel handed down the sentence last Thursday.

Faber is the last of three co-defendants to receive jail time for the shooting.

The victim, Deonta Wright, was waiting for a bus around 3 p.m. Sept. 16, 2003, at the intersection of Madison and Western avenues, according to Andy Conklin, spokesman for the Cook County States Attorney’s office.

Faber and the others started chasing Wright and firing at him, believing he was responsible for previous activity against their gang.

Wright fell down in the intersection of Madison and Western, according to Conklin, and that’s when Faber approached, put a gun underneath Wright’s chin and pulled the trigger, killing the student.

But Wright wasn’t involved in gangs.

“It was a case of mistaken identity,” Conklin said.

Faber will serve consecutive sentences — 60 years with no chance of parole for the homicide and then 25 years for injuring the driver, who was caught by a bullet near the intersection.

Crane is located at 2245 W. Jackson.

Contact: mmaidenberg@chicagojournal.com


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