CAROL STREAM, Ill. — A former Carol Stream man was handed a seven-year prison sentence this week for opening fire on his ex-girlfriend’s vehicle in 2022.
On May 14, 2024, 27-year-old Dejonte Parks pleaded guilty to one felony count of Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm in connection with the shooting that unfolded in Wheaton in May of 2022, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a press release this week.
According to prosecutors, just after 9 p.m. on May 4, 2022, Wheaton police responded to a report of a shooting in the 700 block of North Wheaton Avenue.
Following an investigation, it was determined that the victim, Parks’s ex-girlfriend, and one passenger were inside a car, driving southbound along Schmale Road when Parks approached them in a separate vehicle and flashed a gun.
Prosecutors said Parks then followed them to Wheaton Avenue, where he fired shots toward the vehicle, hitting it one time on the driver’s side.
Following the shooting, Parks fled the scene but was taken into custody the next day at his home.
During a court appearance on May 6, 2022, Judge Daniel Guerin set Parks’s bond at $250,000 with 10% to apply. He has remained in custody in DuPage County since then.
“The complete and utter disregard for public safety Mr. Parks displayed by opening fire at an occupied vehicle is alarming,” Berlin said. “His actions put not only the occupants of the vehicle at great risk, but also put an entire residential neighborhood in danger. Thankfully no one in the vehicle was harmed and no stray bullets found their way into a home or struck an innocent pedestrian.
The sentence was handed down on Wednesday by Judge Guerin.
Parks, who will be required to serve 85% of his sentence before being eligible for parole, will receive credit for time served from May 5, 2022, through August 14, 2024.