A Chicago man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the August 2021 murder of a police officer.
Emonte Morgan, 24, was found guilty in March of first-degree murder, attempted murder of a police officer and possession of a firearm as a felon.
Morgan shot and killed 29-year-old Ella French, wounded her partner Officer Carlos Yanez Jr., and shot Officer Joshua Blas during a traffic stop.
On Wednesday, Cook County Judge Ursula Walowski sentenced him to a mandatory life sentence.
Judge Walowski added that he died 57 years ago after listening to family members describe the impact the shooting had had on them.
On Wednesday, Cook County Judge Ursula Walowski sentenced Emonte Morgan to a mandatory life sentence
Morgan fatally shot 29-year-old Ella French, pictured here, wounded her partner Officer Carlos Yanez Jr., and shot Officer Joshua Blas during a traffic stop.
According to the Chicago TribuneFrench’s mother, Elizabeth, told the judge: ‘The memories, they creep up on me sometimes and I’m filled with sadness and grief.
“I don’t know if that closure will ever be possible for me. One day my daughter and I will meet again. Until then, I will miss Ella every day.”
After completing her impact statement, French addressed Morgan directly.
She told him, ‘Sometimes life sucks. It sucked for me when you killed my daughter, but life gives you choices.
“You had the choice to become my daughter’s murderer. Life in prison means you still have your life, something you took from Ella.”
Officer Yanez, who was shot four times in the head and once in the shoulder, described how the incident left him blind in one eye and partially paralyzed.
He turned to Morgan and said, “I want to tell you that you ate so much that night.
“You killed Ella French and left me for dead. I bled on the curb as you stood over our bodies.
‘I stand before you today to tell you that you will not take this anymore. I will continue to fight every day, just as I did that terrible night.
Officer Yanez, seen here after the incident, was shot four times in the head and once in the shoulder, leaving him partially paralyzed and blind in one eye.
Footage of the incident later emerged showing Morgan, who is blurred, and his brother Eric (right), who accepted a settlement offer in September last year.
Chicago police investigate the scene where two officers were shot during a traffic stop in the 6300 block of South Bell in the West Englewood neighborhood, August 7, 2021
“I will never forgive you and I don’t care what excuses you have. You messed up that night and took so much with you.”
Emotions ran high during the seven-hour sentencing hearing as Yanez’s father hurled insults at Morgan from the witness stand.
The elder Yanez, a retired Chicago police officer himself, cursed at Morgan and said someone should have killed him long ago.
As he did so, Morgan’s mother shouted an insult at his son and was quickly removed from the proceedings, as Yanez Snr said he hoped Morgan would languish in prison.
Prosecutors say Morgan fired multiple shots at the officers after French and the two other officers pulled over an SUV driven by his brother, Eric Morgan.
Eric Morgan has already pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon and obstruction of justice.
Last September, he was offered a plea deal that will see him serve only seven years in prison for his horrific crimes.
Prosecutors say Morgan shot at the officers multiple times after French, seen here, and the two other officers pulled over an SUV driven by his brother, Eric Morgan.
Morgan’s attorney, District Attorney Kristine Neal, told the judge that he is not irreparably damaged and that he can still be rehabilitated.
Morgan has said the prosecution was wrong, that the traffic stop that led to the shooting was unlawful and that French’s death was accidental.
His attorney argued during the trial that the bodycam footage of the incident was unclear, making it difficult to determine what happened during the arrest.
French is depicted with her fellow officers before her death
Cook County District Attorney Kim Foxx told reporters after the hearing: “The defendant made choices that night that could have saved a young woman’s life, saved another officer from harm, and allowed people to go home safely to their families.
“This ending, where a young man spends the rest of his life in prison, is what happens when someone uses gun violence in the way that they did.”
According to CBS News, Officer Yanez said outside the courthouse, “I don’t think it’s justice. I’m not going to get any closure.
“I mean, I’m going to be affected by it for the rest of my life. So many people were affected by it.”
Another man, Jamel Danzy of Hammond, Indiana, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in December 2022 after pleading guilty to a federal firearms charge for purchasing the firearm used to kill French through an illegal straw purchase.