A 21-year-old Harvey man convicted in the 2020 shooting death of 19-year-old Charles Baird of New Lenox was sentenced Monday to 45 years in prison.

Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak handed down the sentence after a hearing was delayed for several months.

Bertani-Tomczak said the defendant, who was a teenager at the time of the shooting, had a juvenile record, was involved in stealing cars and shot Baird in the back for no reason. She cited video evidence from the six-day bench trial in March that showed Baird turn and flee when he was shot.

“There was absolutely no justification for shooting him in the back as he ran away,” Bertani-Tomczak said.

She said the defendant had no record of mental health problems and noted he had a family support system. Because the defendant was a j

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