SPRINGFIELD — A Chicago man who opened fire on an Illinois State Police trooper in Springfield in 2023 was sentenced to 95 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections at a 90-minute hearing in Sangamon County court on April 3.
Cristobal Luis Santana, 39, had been convicted of attempted murder of Trooper Dakotah “Kody” Chapman-Green on Aug. 27, but the process dragged out after Santana dismissed his attorneys and was granted a request to go “pro se” by Chief Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin at a Dec. 17 hearing.
The sentence — 70 years for attempted murder plus 25 years for personal discharge of a firearm — was the one Sangamon County prosecutors were seeking.
“Bottom line is this defendant never needs to set foot again free out of prison,” said State’s Attorney John Milhiser in his office, following the hearing. “He is too dangerous to the public. When you look at these horrific actions, it is a miracle that Trooper Chapman-Green is alive today and thankfully he is.”
Chapman-Green is back on duty and was in the courtroom Friday.
Chapman-Green’s mother, Kris Chapman-Green, in court called Santana “a monster” for his actions.
“We feel he’s getting what he deserves,” she said about Santana, addressing the media afterwards. “It’s been a long two-and-a-half years and we’re grateful, thankful and blessed.
“(The support from the community) feels wonderful. I’ve thanked people throughout this whole entire thing. I feel if it wasn’t for all the prayers the community, actually people all around the world…I don’t we would be here today, and I don’t think Kody would have healed as well and fast as he has.”
“He’s a very bad man going to a very bad place the rest of his life and that’s what he deserves,” Chapman-Green’s father, Jim Green, said of Santana.
In a statement on X, ISP Director Brendan Kelly noted the sentence reflected the severity of the attack and “sends a clear message that violence against those who protect our communities will face justice.
“When an officer is attacked, it is not just an attack on that officer, it is an attack on the rule of law and the fabric of society.”
In court, Santana apologized to Chapman-Green and his mother. Santana asked for a sentencing range “somewhere in the middle,” though he specify a number of years.
Santana noted that he had a lack of criminal history and had, up until the time of the shooting, led “a productive life.
“I did a lot of good for a lot of people.”
Chapman-Green pulled over Santana’s Honda on Oct. 24, 2023, because a License Plate Reader hit tying the vehicle to a homicide in Chicago.
Santana faces first-degree murder charges in Cook County.
After seven to eight shots struck Chapman-Green, Santana beat the trooper with his Glock, causing skull and facial fractures and a brain bleed.
Less than two months after his conviction, Santana filed a motion for a new trial along with a claim of ineffective counsel against his trial attorneys, Kyle N. Loraine of Jefferson City, Missouri, and W. Scott Hanken of Springfield.
Cadagin granted a motion for Loraine and Hanken to withdraw as counsel on Nov. 12, which was when a public defender was appointed, though Santana ultimately granted a motion to represent himself.
Earlier Friday, Cadagin ruled against the new trial and ineffective assistance motions.
At one point during the hearing, Santana claimed that court transcripts had been altered three times, though “I don’t know how,” he admitted.
In response, Cadagin said “I’ve never altered any transcript.”
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Chicago man sentenced to 95 years for attempted murder of ISP trooper
Reporting by Steven Spearie, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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