Gunman gets 5 years for Ottawa shooting

A Naperville man was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for shooting at a vehicle in 2021 in rural Ottawa. No one was injured in the incident.

Jonathan C. Caffey, 36, also listed as a resident of La Salle, Spring Valley and Chicago, had entered a blind plea Nov. 8 to aggravated discharge of a firearm (occupied vehicle), a Class 1 felony carrying four to 15 years in prison.

On Thursday, Caffey appeared in La Salle County Circuit Court for the presentation of an agreed-on sentence. The resulting term is subject to the state Truth in Sentencing Act, which requires certain felons to serve at least 85% of their time. With credit for a day in jail, Caffey’s best-case scenario is to be released by Christmas 2027.

Caffey declined an opportunity to address Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. before sentencing.

Ottawa police previously said “multiple gunshots” were fired Aug. 29, 2021, at a vehicle leaving a rural Ottawa business on Route 71. The vehicle crashed into a field across the road. Inside were two occupants, who were not injured by gunfire.

Caffey was determined to be a person of interest and apprehended almost a year later in Manteno.