Man gets 48 years for trying to kill estranged wife’s boyfriend in Aurora

A man was sentenced to 48 years in prison for breaking into the Aurora home of a man who was dating his estranged wife and trying to kill him.

On Aug. 27, 2014, 40-year-old Jermaine L. Baker broke into the man’s Aurora home wearing one of his wife’s dresses, a wig and gloves, prosecutors said. Baker walked into the man’s bedroom while he was sleeping and turned on a light before kicking his bed and asking, “How do you want to die?”

He then pulled out a 9mm semiautomatic handgun and shot the man in his hands, cheek, jaw and forehead, prosecutors said. The man was able to call 911 before and make it downstairs to answer his front door for paramedics.

Baker, of Aurora, was convicted earlier this year of felony counts of attempted murder, home invasion and aggravated battery with a firearm, according to the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.

“This is yet another crime rooted in domestic violence,” Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said in a statement. “Instead of acknowledging that his relationship with his estranged wife had ended, Mr. Baker instead chose to violently seek revenge through control and intimidation.”

According to state law, Baker must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, prosecutors said. Baker has received credit for 1,355 days served in the Kane County Jail, where he has been held since his arrest in lieu of $750,000 bail.

His sentence includes a mandatory enhancement of 25 years to life in prison because he personally shot the gun that caused great bodily harm, prosecutors said.