The getaway driver who whisked the gunman away from a botched gang shooting that killed an 8-year-old girl while she was holding her mother’s hand in Little Village has been sentenced to 20 years in jail.
On Friday, Xavier Guzman, 30, pled guilty to murder and got his sentence from Judge James Novy. He is required to serve his entire two-decade sentence. Novy recently sentenced Emilio Corripio, the gunman in the case, to 27 years in prison.
Surveillance video showed young Melissa Ortega holding her mother’s hand as they crossed Pulaski at 26th Street just before 3 p.m. on January 22, 2022. Melissa fainted in front of a bank entrance after being hit in the head by a shot aimed at Corripio’s gang rivals.
Guzman was driving a suburban cab when the shooting took place. Officials said he was off duty when he picked up Corripio in a cab less than an hour before the shooting. According to prosecutors, Corripio decided to circle the block after seeing two guys throw up signs for the rival Two-Six street gang at the junction of Komensky and 26th Street.
Videos apparently show his cab pulling into a nearby alley, as well as Corripio getting out to begin firing on the Two-Six. A 29-year-old competitor sustained a gunshot wound to his back. Other shots struck a parked automobile occupied by a 47-year-old man and his 9-year-old daughter.
Melissa looked over her shoulder as she heard the gunfire, and she and her mother hurried to cross the crossing and take cover. Melissa, who was still holding her mother’s hand, was hit by a gunshot and collapsed to the ground as they stood inches from the doorway of a Fifth Third Bank.
Corripio donned a mask, a hoodie over his head, and dark attire, so the recordings did not reveal his face. However, authorities traced the cab’s travels and determined that Guzman and Corripio had stopped for Subway sandwiches approximately 30 minutes after the shooting, according to prosecutors. According to prosecutors, Corripio’s face was plainly visible on the restaurant footage, indicating that he was dressed similarly to the killer.
Corripio, now 20, was on juvenile probation for two carjackings and a stolen vehicle case when he murdered the girl. Prosecutors claimed he identified himself as a Latin King at least twice after earlier arrests.