BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) - A 70-year prison sentence has been handed a southern Illinois man convicted of shooting East St. Louis Police Officer Michael Baxton Jr.
Cortez Gillum was convicted in March of two counts of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and unlawfully possessing a weapon as a felon.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports (https://bit.ly/1j1E4iv) Associate Judge Randy Kelly on Friday sentenced the 38-year-old Gillum to 30 years in prison on the attempted murder charge, adding a 40-year enhancement because the found he personally caused great bodily harm by discharging the firearm.
Prosecutors say Gillum was wanted on a federal warrant in March 2012 for a parole violation.
When Baxton spotted Gillum outside an East St. Louis public housing complex and tried to arrest him. Gillum shot Baxton during a struggle.
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