Become a digitalPLUS subscriber. $12 for 12 weeks.

Guilty plea in Aurora murder yields 30-year prison term

A man who supplied a gun, transportation and expertise in a 2009 gang-motivated murder in Aurora was sentenced today to 30 years in prison, according to Kane County prosecutors.

In a negotiated settlement, Jose R. Sosa, 25, agreed to plead guilty to first-degree murder in exchange for the 30-year sentence.

Sosa, formerly of the 300 block of Oakwood Avenue, was one of four men charged in the death of Donald Franklin, 38, of the 200 block of North Kendall Street in Aurora.

Franklin was on his front porch with four other men on the evening of June 24, 2009, when two teenagers opened fire on them. Two of the men were wounded and Franklin died from gunshot wounds to the abdomen, arm and legs, according to police.

Authorities alleged that Sosa had supplied a pistol to one of the shooters as part of a gang initiation and that he had driven the teens around Aurora before spotting Franklin and his friends, whom he believed to be rival gang members.

Sosa allegedly parked the vehicle and instructed the two teens on how they could best creep up on the Franklin group before opening fire.

The shooters, who were both 15 at the time, later pleaded guilty to murder and each received a 30-year sentence. A fourth man who rode in the car and supplied the second gun used in the shooting pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

State’s Attorney Joe McMahon called Franklin’s death “tragic and senseless.”

“As long as young people pursue gang membership, we will have defendants to prosecute for murders and other violent crimes.” McMahon said. “It’s as predictable as the sunset, until young people realize that gang membership ends with a prison sentence or an early death."

Copyright © 2014, The Baltimore Sun