A man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to the murder of 9-year-old Janari Ricks.
Ricks was gunned down while playing outside with his friends in Cabrini Green on a Friday in August 2020.
Ricks’ mother, Jalisa Ford, told WGN News at the time that he spent the entire day inside until a friend invited him to play outside.
“He was in the house all day, he didn’t come out ’til maybe after 5 when one of his friends knocked on the door to ask if he could come outside to play,” Ford said. “And I allowed him to come out to play with his friends. He never made it back to the house.”
Darrell Johnson was apprehended a few days following the shooting. Johnson opened fire on a small group of people, and Ricks was not his intended target.
He pleaded guilty on Thursday and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Jalisa Ford, Ricks’ mother, founded the 1 Jar Foundation to minimize gun violence in and around Cabrini Green. Every year, before school begins, she distributes backpacks and supplies in honor of Ricks.
In June, CPS presented Ford with an honorary eighth-grade diploma for her son.
