A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a 38-year-old man to nearly five years in prison for shooting a gun during a gunfight outside Wrigley Field last year.
Raphael Hammond of Chicago was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Lindsay Jenkins after pleading guilty to possessing a handgun as a felon.
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Prosecutors claimed Hammond was on federal supervised release for a previous gun conviction when he pulled out a Ruger revolver and fired at a fleeing SUV early on May 5, 2024.
“He engaged in a shoot-out across the street from Wrigley Field,” prosecutors stated unequivocally in a sentencing letter.
Surveillance video showed the chaotic scene, which began when a gunman in a red flowery sweatshirt left a dark SUV and opened fire on Hammond at close range. Hammond dashed into the bowling alley but returned shortly later, firing multiple shots down the pavement at the vehicle as it raced away. Two onlookers were hurt during the incident; however, Hammond was not charged with causing the injuries.
Hammond buried his rifle in a planter across from the ballpark, motioned for Chicago police officers to assist his wounded comrade, and then discreetly left the area. Officers then recovered the weapon from the planter and discovered that it had been discharged multiple times.
Prosecutors said Hammond’s life has been defined by guns and gunfire: “From being identified by a gunshot victim as the shooter in 2006, to being a gunshot victim himself at least four times, to convictions for illegal gun possession in 2008 and 2018.”
“Despite shooting them, being shot himself, and spending time in both state and federal prison for possessing them, on May 5, 2024, [he again] possessed a gun, and then shot it at someone, endangering the lives of everyone in the vicinity,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum.
Prosecutors requested the judge to impose a 100-month term, describing Hammond as a “significant threat to public safety” whose “abject callousness” in sprinting down a crowded street and shooting at a fleeing vehicle showed a contempt for human lives.
Patrick Boyle, Hammond’s attorney, recommended a 42-month sentence, which is 15 months fewer than the minimum sentence under federal guidelines.
“Raphael Hammond is a polite, respectful, and thoughtful 38-year-old man,” Boyle argued.
The brief depicted Hammond as a traumatized gunshot survivor who grew up in the Cabrini-Green housing projects, lost both parents by the age of five, and lived a life of violence, including four gunshots prior to the Wrigleyville incident.
He claimed Hammond’s reaction that night was a “split-second decision driven by fear” after years of living in survival mode. Hammond’s family sent letters of support to the court. Hammond’s 18-year-old son, Steven, who died in Uptown on September 26, sent one of those messages.
Judge Jenkins finally ordered a 57-month sentence, the lowest end of the federal guideline range, followed by three years of supervised release.
