BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) — A man who pleaded guilty to charges for his role in the fatal shooting of an Illinois State Police trooper was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday in the 2019 case.
Al Stewart Jr. was sentenced to 36 months for obstructing justice and 28 months for possession with intent to distribute cannabis, said Chris Allen, a spokesman for the St. Clair County State’s Attorney Office.
A charge of armed violence was dismissed, Allen said.
The sentences will run concurrently with each other and with a federal sentence, he said.
Stewart pleaded guilty to federal gun charges and was sentenced to four years in prison.
After the sentencing, Stewart was returned to federal custody, Allen said.
Stewart pleaded guilty last year in the August 2019 death of Trooper Nicholas Hopkins, 33, who died after being wounded during a shootout while serving a warrant at an East St. Louis home.
Christopher R. Grant, who lived at the home where the warrant was being served, has been charged with murder in Hopkins’ death and is awaiting trial. Grant and Stewart engaged in a day-long standoff with East St. Louis police, Illinois State Police, the SWAT team and other law enforcement before they surrendered.
Grant was indicted on eight federal charges in March 2020, including first-degree murder, maintaining a drug house, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime.
