By JORDAN OWEN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire
Meiko Buchanan | Illinois Dept. of Corrections
The first of three men charged with the 2013 fatal shooting of rapper Leonard “L’A Capone” Anderson outside a South Side recording studio has been sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Meiko Buchanan, 25, pleaded guilty Nov. 2 to two counts of murder before Judge Maura Slattery Boyle, according to Cook County court records.
Anderson, 17, had just left the studio in the 7000 block of South Stony Island Avenue and was walking through an alley when he was confronted and shot Sept. 26, 2013, authorities said at the time.
Leonard "L'A Capone" Anderson | Facebook
Anderson, who rapped under the moniker L’A Capone, was shot in the right thigh and lower back, Chicago Police said. He was pronounced dead at 8:33 p.m. at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Anderson, of the 7200 block of South Bennett Avenue, was no stranger to gun violence and had previously been shot, his mother, Dedra Morris, told the Sun-Times. She said he had just turned 17 and a birthday cake was still sitting in her kitchen to celebrate.
Also charged with murder in the case are Sakhee Hardy-Johnson, 17, and Michael Mays, 21, according to authorities. However, no one has yet been charged with pulling the trigger.
Sakhee Hardy-Johnson | Cook County Sheriff's Dept.
But Hardy-Johnson and Mays both gave statements admitting to getting a gun before going to the studio, prosecutors said. They also admitted being inside a parked vehicle “that would run interference in the event that police officers arrived on scene.”
Buchanan was charged with murder for being the driver of a “tail car,” a vehicle meant to insulate the lead car containing the gunman, prosecutors said. Buchanan told investigators he watched the shooter sneak up on Anderson and open fire with a .40 or .45 caliber handgun.
Judge Slattery Boyle sentenced Buchanan, of the 600 block of West 60th Street, to 45 years in prison, according to court records. He will receive credit for 802 days served in the Cook County Jail, and must serve three years of supervised release.
Michael Mays | Cook County Sheriff's Dept.
Buchanan began serving his sentence at the Menard Correctional Center on Nov. 3, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records.
Hardy-Johnson, 20, was next scheduled to appear in court Monday, according to court records. Mays, 24, is next scheduled to appear in court Feb. 6.