Steven Montano sentenced to natural life in prison after convicted in murder of Chicago police Officer Andres Vasquez Lasso
The man convicted of killing Chicago police Officer Andrés Vásquez Lasso was sentenced to natural life in prison Tuesday.
He was found guilty of first-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon in July.
The jury of six men and six women reached a verdict against Steven Montano after less than two hours of deliberating.
Jurors had the option to consider second-degree murder, but did not.
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There were about four days of testimony from over a dozen witnesses in the roughly one-week case at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.
Vásquez Lasso's widow was among those who testified.
Jurors also saw police body camera video, even from Vásquez Lasso. It captured the deadly encounter and aftermath.
Montano took the stand in his own defense, telling jurors that he was afraid of police and that it was "not his intention" to shoot an officer that day in March 2023.
Montano testified he was trying to hide his gun, and didn't know it was an officer telling him to stop several times.
But prosecutors say Vásquez Lasso was shot five times during the Gage Park domestic disturbance call.
Montano's girlfriend had called police to say he threatened her with a gun.
Montano was 18 at the time of the fatal shooting. Vásquez Lasso shot him in the face during the incident.
The video in the player above is from an earlier report.
