A Cicero man has been sentenced to 122 years in prison for the brutal murder of his 15-year-old ex-girlfriend and the attempted murder of her mother outside their Romeoville home earlier this year, Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow announced Monday.
Erick M. Maya, 23, of 5600 Park Avenue, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery in connection with the Feb. 13 shooting of 15-year-old Briana Valle and her mother, Alicia Guerrero.
He was found guilty by jury last month.
The Will County State's Attorney's office initially said Maya was sentenced to 118 years, but later corrected to 122 years.
“This cowardly manipulator killed an innocent girl because he couldn’t stand that she wanted to escape his control. And then he shot her mother, who was fortunate to survive this vicious attack,” Glasgow said in a statement. “Erick Maya will now spend the rest of his life in prison, where he will never control even the smallest aspect of his own life, and where he will never be free to harm another young girl or her family.”
Valle and Guerrero were sitting in their vehicle on the 300 block of Emery Avenue that morning, about to leave for school, when prosecutors said Maya walked up and fired shots. Valle was shot in the head and died two days later. Guerrero, 33, survived after taking a bullet to the neck.
Police said Maya and Valle, a Romeoville High School student, had dated in the past but were not romantically involved at the time of the shooting.
During the trial, Guerrero testified that she tried to keep her daughter away from Maya, even making contact with authorities to seek orders of protection. To better protect her family, Guerrero said she moved from Chicago's Little Village neighborhood to Romeoville, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Maya, initially charged with attempted murder, was ordered held without bond.
