A teen was sentenced Friday to 15 years after admitting he killed an East Chicago man in 2022 who was helping a friend get his stolen bike back near Edison Park in Hammond.
The 17-year-old, who the Post-Tribune is choosing not to name because he is a minor, pleaded guilty in July to voluntary manslaughter. He was 14 when he shot and killed Julian Valdez, 21, on June 19, 2022 near Edison Park, records show.
The case was moved to adult court last year.
Defense lawyer Sonya Scott-Dix said — during the 30-minute hearing — that her client and his cousin stole some bikes near Edison Park. The teen got off the bike and yelled at his cousin to do the same, but the cousin refused.
Valdez ended up taking the gun from the cousin and pointing it at him, she said. Court records show the defendant walked across the street and shot Valdez at two different points. A record from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office lists a Julian Valdez, aged 21, from East Chicago — with the same incident address as the shooting — died July 23, 2022 at the University of Chicago.
“My client truly believed he was defending his cousin,” Scott-Dix said.
At the time, the defendant actually lived with a parent in Texas and was back visiting. It was a “rough” neighborhood in Hammond; that’s why he had a gun, she said. Due to his age, he only has an eighth-grade education.
A 15-year prison term was a “significant amount of time,” she said.
Deputy Prosecutor Keith Anderson noted the law didn’t allow a self-defense claim if someone was in the process of committing a crime, such as stealing the bikes.
He “made a terrible decision” and would face a “long sentence for someone his age.”
Speaking in court, the defendant said he had the “most remorseful apology” for Valdez’s family. “This is not who I am.”
Judge Salvador Vasquez said it was unusual for a defendant to have killed someone at 14.
“This has to be a life’s lesson,” he said. “If it isn’t, we are going to see you again, and again, and again.”
He encouraged him to show good behavior in prison to get time knocked off his sentence, and get a formal education while he’s there.
You wrote a “darn good letter” of apology, he said. “I can tell you have a brain in your head. Use it.”
The defendant’s mother, who was emotional, declined comment after the hearing.
According to police reports, the first officer arrived around 6:45 p.m. to the 600 block of Cherry Street — about two blocks south of the park — for a report gunshot victim.
People were standing over him and yelling for help.
Witnesses said Valdez was playing soccer with two friends at the park when two younger Black teens stole his friend’s and another player’s bikes, according to reports.
One was wearing all-black clothes. The friend chased one of the boys down Jackson Avenue, then east on Cherry Street. When his bike threw its chain, he grabbed the handlebars.
Valdez drove up and the other friend ran up to meet him.
The teen who stole that bike appeared to pull out a “fake” BB gun with an orange tip. They told the teen he was outnumbered three-to-one. Scott-Dix said in court Friday it was a “real gun.”
“Don’t worry, I got you,” the defendant appeared to say, according to documents.
He walked across the street and flashed a gun. He opened fire, hitting Valdez in the front. Once Valdez was on the ground, the teen walked up and shot him again in the back, according to reports.
The alleged bike thieves ran west on Cherry Street. The incident appeared to be captured on security video.
