A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for a drive-by shooting that killed a Little Village nurse in 2019, a crime that investigators said stemmed from mistaken gang identity.
Armando Lopez pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in exchange for the sentence from Judge Neera Walsh. Under Illinois law, he must serve the full term, making him eligible for release on October 14, 2044.
Lopez, of the 2800 block of South Christina Avenue, admitted his role in the November 12, 2019, killing of 32-year-old Frank Aguilar, a registered nurse at Misericordia Heart of Mercy, who was shot and killed while walking home in the 3700 block of West 32nd Street. Aguilar, still wearing his work scrubs, had just finished doing laundry and was carrying the basket home when he was shot.
Police and prosecutors said Aguilar was not the intended target. Detectives determined that Lopez was driving a silver Jeep Commander when one of his passengers opened fire, apparently mistaking Aguilar for a rival gang member…