Lorelle Jordan, a 25-year-old parolee, is charged with six counts of attempted murder after opening fire on Chicago police officers outside of a Northwest Side police station. Three officers were injured in the attack.
Jordan was wanted for questioning in relation to a carjacking that occurred the month before. Officers spotted a white Porsche that was stolen in the carjacking and ran the VIN and the plates. They realized that the vehicle was stolen. As they were running the numbers, Jordan walked right up to the Porsche, got in the car, and attempted to drive away.
Officers then physically removed Jordan from the Porsche, placed him in cuffs, and drove him down to the police station. What they did not realize was that Jordan had a gun on him. By the time the officers got to Grand Central District Station and attempted to remove Jordan from the vehicle, Jordan had pulled the gun and fired on the officer opening the door. This officer was shot in the face and is in serious condition. Another officer was shot in the hip, and a third took a bullet to his protective vest.
The officers returned fire, shooting Jordan. He was then taken to the hospital for treatment.
The Charges
Jordan is facing a litany of charges and is unlikely to ever see the outside of a jail cell again. These include:
- Six counts of attempted murder
- Aggravated possession of a stolen vehicle
- Possession of a controlled substance
- Habitual criminal in possession of a weapon
Between 2012 and 2015, Jordan was convicted several times of drug possession with the intent to sell. He was charged in 2016 with aggravated assault on a police officer related to a traffic stop.
Attempted first-degree murder is charged as a Class X felony (the highest degree of crime you can commit in Illinois). But this is only true when a firearm is used in the commission of the crime. Attempted murder with an undischarged firearm adds 15 years to whatever sentence is handed down. If the firearm is discharged, then 20 years are added to the sentence. Since the discharge of the firearm caused great bodily harm to at least one of the officers, Jordan will have an added 25 years onto whatever sentence he faces. Now, multiply that by six and add in the other felonies, and you have a de facto life sentence.
The Defense
It will be very difficult for a defense attorney to find some way to be useful in a case like this. We make our money by reducing charges to what can be proven by prosecutors and ensure that the arresting officers and prosecutors are themselves obeying the law.
But when you have a guy who lit up a bunch of cops who were running the plates on a stolen vehicle he was trying to enter, you do not have a lot of leverage. In this instance, you hope there is some mitigating factor, like mental illness, that you can use, but a mental illness defense rarely results in an acquittal.
Talk to a Chicago Criminal Defense Attorney Today
If you have been charged with a serious crime in the Chicago area, call David Freidberg today at (312) 560-7100 to discuss your case and the charges against you. We will force the prosecution into proving every element of their case beyond a reasonable doubt and protect your interests from government overreach.