A Chicago Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for 2021 Shooting Incident

A Chicago man who opened fire on a Noble Square street in 2021, striking another man multiple times, has been sentenced to ten years in federal prison. The punishment, handed down by U.S. District Judge Martha Pacold, is the maximum allowed for the federal firearm charge, according to a court filing by prosecutors.

On June 8, 2021, shortly after 9 p.m., officers responded to multiple calls of shots fired in the area of North Noble and West Walton Streets. Police were searching for two suspects with distinctive hairstyles after the victim was shot in his legs, knee, and right eye. The victim survived, but federal prosecutors later described the injuries as permanently disfiguring.

About fifteen minutes after the shooting, officers spotted two suspects on the 1300 block of West Walton. The suspects attempted to flee when approached by the police. A teenage boy was caught first, with a handgun recovered from him. The second suspect, identified as Angel Sosa, 27, ran with a separate firearm before throwing it to the ground as officers closed in. Police recovered the gun, which was loaded and equipped with an extended magazine.

Sosa had been paroled just two months earlier for another firearm case. Prosecutors said he was legally barred from having a gun and had previously been convicted of aggravated robbery with a firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

The shooting victim refused to cooperate with investigators, initially preventing state charges in the attack. However, federal authorities later built the firearm case around the gun Sosa discarded and the forensic findings that followed.

Officials stated that ballistics testing tied all thirteen recovered cartridge cases from the street to Sosa’s pistol, and gunshot residue was detected on his right hand. Federal prosecutors also mentioned that the teenage accomplice fired six rounds from a revolver. Sosa claimed self-defense, but authorities found no evidence that the victim was armed or acted as an aggressor.

In a detailed sentencing memorandum, prosecutors argued that Sosa’s conduct amounted to attempted murder, citing the number of shots fired, the nature of the victim’s injuries, and Sosa’s criminal history. They also highlighted an incident where Sosa allegedly threatened a correctional officer while awaiting trial at the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center.

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