CHICAGO (CBS) — A teenage boy was convicted of the deadly act on Wednesday recordings from a beloved Chicago drummer on the city’s southwest side in 2022.
The 16-year-old appeared before the judge who sentenced him to five years in a juvenile detention center. The gunman, who was 14 at the time of the killing, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in March.
On April 8, 2022, Ryan Arliskas, 27, better known by his nickname “Tygercat,” was walking home in the 2000 block of West 35th Street in McKinley Park when he was approached by three boys who pushed him into an alley and shot him. in the neck, causing his death.
Chicago police have released surveillance images of the suspects in August 2022 – one from a supermarket and another on a CTA bus the same night Tygercat was killed. The shooter was taken into custody in March 2023.
Family and friends waited outside the courthouse with pictures of Tygercat on their shirts.
“Every song reminds me of him because every song has a drum and a drummer in it, so I always think of him,” said Tygercat’s mother, Molly Arliskas.
The gunman’s attorney, David Drwenke, said the motive behind the killing remains unclear as nothing was taken after the shooting.
“I believe this was a group of young boys in an unknown area who did something stupid, tragic and horrible,” he said.
For months, Arliskas’ family searched for answers about the case, but received only limited information because the suspects were minors. Tygercat’s mother told the teen he was a mean monster.
“My son deserved so much better, and he would have done anything for his community,” she said.
The five-year sentence was the strictest the teenager could have received at the Ministry of Juvenile Justice. He will receive approximately one year of credit toward his sentence for time already served.
Tygercat’s family said he should have been charged in adult court and said they would fight for harsher sentences in similar cases.
A second accomplice, whom the family calls the “lookout,” was taken into custody and charged, but a trial date has yet to be set. They say the third boy seen on surveillance footage was never brought in for questioning.
“I feel his spirit here,” Arliskas said. ‘But he’ll never come back. He will never have a voice again. Someone has to be his voice.”
