CHICAGO — A man was found guilty Tuesday for the murder of an off-duty Chicago police officer in 2019.
Officer John Rivera, 23, was shot and killed after leaving a River North establishment around 3:30 a.m. in March 2019.
Rivera was with friends and they returned to Rivera’s parked car in the 700 block of North Clark Street.
According to authorities, Menelik Jackson, now 29, was armed and looking for revenge after he and a group of friends got into a fight at the former Rock ‘n’ Roll McDonald’s.
Jackson claimed in the trial that he heard someone in the car mention a gun, according to the Sun-Times .
On the stand, Jackson admitted to firing a handgun at Rivera’s car seconds after walking up to it, according to the Sun-Times.
Rivera and a 23-year-old man, who later recovered, were shot inside the vehicle. Rivera was on the force for two years and was a 2013 graduate of Brother Rice High School.
Jackson was charged along with Jovan Battle and Jaquan Washington. Battle was sentenced to 65 years in 2021 after pointing out Rivera’s car to Menelik and Washington.