Chicago Man Shot a Security Guard After Serving 4½  Years of a 12-Year Carjacking Sentence

Salvador Reitinger was sentenced to 12 years in 2021 for carjacking a lady in her Irving Park garage.

Two weeks before, Reitinger had finished his eight-year carjacking term. In July, after serving less than half of his 12 years, officials freed him. Prosecutors allege Reitinger shot a security guard this month.

Reitinger served nearly 412 years of a 12-year sentence. We inquired. Let’s begin.

Carjackings

On January 11, 2010, Reitinger carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint in the West Loop, less than a year after his aggravated weapon conviction.

Also read: Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Killed in West Garfield Park: Chicago Police

Eight years and 16 days after the West Loop hijacking, Reitinger allegedly pointed a pistol at a 49-year-old woman in her garage. He stole her money, bank card, and keys and tied her up with wires and a phone charger. Her 2013 Ford Focus has an old Bernie Sanders 2016 bumper sticker.

Cops followed the woman’s phone to a McDonald’s and then Logan Square. Officers recognised Reitinger’s “Bernie” sticker and found him eating McDonald’s.

Prosecutors say he fled and dumped a loaded firearm. He was arrested. Prosecutors reached a deal with Reitinger. On December 16, 2020, Judge Michael Hood will sentence him to 12 years for aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm.

Credits

Why did he serve less than five years of a 12-year sentence for a Class X felony violent crime? The 12-year sentence was cut by 50% for good conduct. He got credit for the 2 years, 11 months, and 6 days he spent in prison before sentence.

His release date is January 10, 2024, less than six years after he was arrested.

Bonus points came

Mr. Reitinger earned 342 days of EPC (11 months, 12 days) for completing programmes and job assignments, an IDOC official said. Jan. 28, 2023 is his new parole date. 5 years after his arrest.

The court issued an amended sentence order on April 29, 2022, increasing his prison credits from 1056 days to 1239 days (3 years, 5 months, 9 days) for time spent in county while awaiting sentencing.

July 25, 2022 is his new parole date. Four years and six months after the hijacking.

Assault

Monday, prosecutors accused Reitinger with attempted murder and other charges for shooting a currency exchange security guard on November 12.

The guard escorted the cashier to her vehicle after closing, prosecutor Rhianna Biernat said. While the clerk was going into her car, Reitinger allegedly shot the security man in the abdomen. She reported a guard shot Reitinger in the bicep.

Also read: Chicago police arrested SUV driver who crashed into the River North Walgreens

While police investigated the guard’s shooting, another individual was shot two blocks away. Was Reitinger? Police discovered a 9mm pistol in his pocket, a full magazine nearby, and a blood trail leading to the security guard shooting site, Biernat said.

DNA testing on other evidence is forthcoming, but the incident was caught on security footage, says Biernat.

Neither the guard nor the currency exchange clerk recognised Reitinger as the shooter, she added, although footage shows him shooting the guard after emerging from an alley. In the footage, the guard fires back, prompting the shooter to collapse and flee.

Reitinger’s public lawyer, Suzin Farber, fought against being held without bail. She noted the lack of DNA, ballistics, witness identifications, and a clear comprehension of the CCTV footage.

She stated Reitinger is a two-parent scaffolding engineer.

Judge Barbara Dawkins approved no-bail notwithstanding Farber’s objections. The parole board will evaluate his status in light of fresh charges.