Gang member gets 78 years for shooting Elgin boy

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. (AP) — An Elgin man has been sentenced to 78 years in prison for killing a 5-year-old boy in a botched gang-related assassination.

Miguel Hernandez Jr. was sentenced Thursday to 60 years for the 2011 shooting death of Eric Galarza Jr. and 18 years for the attempted murder of the boy’s father, Eric Galarza Sr., a member of the Latin Kings. He could get about three years taken off of his 18-year sentence for good behavior. Hernandez will also get credit for the three years he has spent in Cook County jail while he was awaiting trial and sentencing.