Gunman gets 15-year sentence in Leland shooting

A Sandwich man was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for shooting a Leland woman who survived.

Jon M. Hurtig, 30, appeared in La Salle County Circuit Court for sentencing on one count of aggravated battery with a firearm, a Class X felony. Hurtig had entered a blind plea after prosecutors agreed to cap their sentencing recommendation at no more than 20 years.

When offered a chance to speak, Hurtig rose and apologized to the victim for his actions.

“I do feel that I’m not the same person I was,” Hurtig told Judge Cynthia M. Raccuglia.

The judge acknowledged some mitigating factors, including Hurtig’s documented problems with drugs and alcohol, but the judge handed down a sentence far above the minimum six years that Hurtig and his lawyer requested.

The victim told police that she and Hurtig were arguing Oct. 24 at her residence. Hurtig went for a 0.9-mm pistol and fired a shot that struck her as she was trying to flee. The victim survived the attack but had to be hospitalized.

Hurtig then dragged her inside the residence, an act witnessed by a neighbor who heard the gunshot. Hurtig later sat for an interview and admitted to firing the shot.

At Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Assistant La Salle County Public Defender Doug Kramarsic urged the judge to consider that Hurtig took responsibility for his actions, insofar as he pleaded guilty and then participated in counseling while in jail.

Kramarsic also noted that Hurtig’s criminal history, while not short, was comprised largely of drug offenses, not crimes against people.

“He’s not a violent person,” Kramarsic said. “This is a one-time event.”

But Assistant La Salle County State’s Attorney Laura Hall asked for 20 years, citing several factors in aggravation.

The victim was shot in broad daylight in a residential area where others could have been struck and killed by gunfire. Hurtig, she said, showed a lack of concern for the victim when he dragged her, wounded, back into the house and then went to retrieve the pistol, at which point the victim made her getaway.

Hall also argued that Hurtig’s record was lengthy, dating back to a cannabis offense as a minor, and that as a convicted felon, he had no business possessing or using a firearm.

“You can’t run around shooting people,” Hall said.

The judge agreed. Raccuglia said mere possession of the weapon overcame most of the mitigating factors.

“You should not have had a gun, let alone used it,” the judge ruled, adding later, “You have been given chances to get help and have not come through.”

Hurtig’s prison time is subject to the state’s Truth in Sentencing Act, requiring certain felons to serve 85% of their sentences. With about 8½ months of credit for time served, he could be released in 12 years.