Man who murdered off-duty Chicago police officer gets 90 years in prison, prosecutor says

CHICAGO - A man convicted of murdering an off-duty Chicago police officer in 2019 was sentenced to 90 years in prison, prosecutors announced.

Menelik Jackson, 30, was sentenced on Tuesday after his conviction for the March 23, 2019, murder of Ofc. John Rivera, 23, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

The backstory:

Rivera was off-duty and sitting in a car with friends in River North when Jackson opened fire on the car, mistakenly believing they were a different group of people.

Prosecutors said Jackson and two other men approached the car together looking to retaliate against a group they had fought with earlier at the Rock-N-Roll McDonald’s.

Jackson fired into the front and back seat of the car multiple times and fatally wounded Rivera and injured a 23-year-old who was shot in the chest and neck, prosecutors said.

Last October, Jackson was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated discharge of a firearm.

He was the third person convicted in Rivera’s murder. Jovan Battle, 38, who led Jackson to Rivera’s car, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 65 years in prison. Jaquan Washington pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder last December and was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Chicago Police Ofc. John Rivera

What they're saying:

Rivera started his career with the Chicago Police Department two years before his death.

"Officer John Rivera was a dedicated public servant who sought to make our city a safer place, and his senseless death left a hole in our hearts that can never be filled," said State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neil Burke in a statement. "Today’s sentence delivers long overdue accountability, as well as a measure of justice for Officer Rivera’s family, friends, and fellow officers."