A Cook County judge on Thursday sentenced a man to eight years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a gun charge in connection with the shooting death of Chicago police officer Krystal Rivera, even as Rivera’s mother said he shouldn’t carry the weight of the “institutional failures beyond his control.”
Rivera, 36, a four-year veteran with a young daughter, was shot and killed by her partner, Officer Carlos Baker, on June 5, 2025, after they tried to conduct an investigatory stop in the 8200 block of South Drexel Avenue on the South Side.
Jaylin Arnold, 28, pleaded guilty to a felony gun charge in exchange for the eight-year prison sentence. According to the agreement, it will run concurrently with a three-year sentence for an unrelated drug charge. The case against his co-defendant, Adrian Rucker, remains pending.
In a tearful statement, Rivera’s mother, Yolanda Rivera, said accountability for Arnold is appropriate, but she criticized the severity of an eight-year sentence in light of the role of the Chicago Police Department in her daughter’s killing.
“Justice should never become a matter of convenience or optics, but a careful examination of all responsibility involved,” Rivera said.
The sentencing before Judge Barbara Dawkins at a branch court in Bridgeview, followed the release of long-awaited body camera videos that showed the shooting of Rivera by Baker. Arnold and Rucker were charged with multiple felony counts in connection with the underlying events surrounding the shooting.
According to the footage, Rivera and Baker were buzzed inside an apartment building and rushed up a flight of stairs after a suspect. As the suspect entered a unit, Baker followed close behind, with Rivera behind him. Baker can be seen kicking the door, and a man toppled over a couch inside.
In the pivotal moments shown by the footage, Baker pivoted to his right, according to the video from his camera, which was aimed toward the wall outside the unit. A gunshot fired by him can be heard. Rivera, not yet in the doorway, is struck and falls in the hallway outside the unit. The foot pursuit lasted only seconds, but the videos show Baker took about two minutes to render aid to his partner after firing the fatal round.
During the sentencing hearing, Yolanda Rivera called for transparency from the city and accountability for Baker. Late last year, Rivera’s family filed a nine-count lawsuit against Baker, the city and CPD, alleging willful and wanton conduct, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
She became choked up when talking about the body camera footage, saying that Baker “failed to render aid when it was critically needed.”
“Holding someone accountable for the charges … is appropriate,” she said. “However, assigning them as essential symbols while ignoring the actions or inactions of those in positions of authority does not effect the balance of justice our system strives for.”
