Drug dealer commuted by Obama charged with shooting woman in road rage attack

Arpan Rai
·2 min read
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In 2016, Alton D Mills was relieved from his life sentence by the Obama administration after serving 22 years in prison over drug charges (Twitter/ Illinois State Police)
In 2016, Alton D Mills was relieved from his life sentence by the Obama administration after serving 22 years in prison over drug charges (Twitter/ Illinois State Police)
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A former crack cocaine dealer who was granted clemency by former president Barack Obama has been jailed for allegedly shooting a car passenger on an Illinois highway, police officials said.

The accused Alton D Mills has been charged with three counts of attempted murder, the Illinois state police department said on Thursday as it announced the 54-year-old’s arrest and charges.

He has been accused of firing “multiple shots” at another vehicle behind him on an Interstate ramp in Posen.

“Multiple shots were fired from the suspect vehicle, striking the victim’s vehicle. The back-seat passenger in the victim’s vehicle was struck by gunfire and was transported to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries,” the police said in a statement.

The incident took place at a village roughly 30 miles south of Chicago.

He is now held at the Cook County Jail with no bond, the police statement added.

Mr Mills was arrested after an extensive probe led to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to approve three counts of attempted murder, the police department said.

In 2016, Mr Mills was relieved from his life sentence by the Obama administration after serving 22 years in prison over drug charges.

He was among the 95 individuals whose sentences were commuted by Mr Obama.

The pardon document by the Department of Justice cites his offence as “conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine base and cocaine and conspiracy to use communication facilities in the commission of drug trafficking offences; use of communication facility to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base (two counts).”

This is in addition to the charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base.

He was found guilty of being part of a crack cocaine conspiracy on federal charges by the authorities in 1994, a news release from the Pritzker School of Law at Northwestern University shows.

Mills is being held with no bond at the Cook County Jail.