Mother of Chicago cop killed by partner says 8-year sentence is 'extremely severe' for man police were chasing

The mother of a Chicago police officer who was fatally shot by her partner told a judge Thursday that a man pleading guilty to charges related to the death “deserves a sentence that reflects the truth of their role — not the burden of institutional failures beyond his control.”

The comments by officer Krystal Rivera’s mother, Yolanda, came as Jaylin Arnold pleaded guilty to gun and drug charges during a packed hearing in a Bridgeview courtroom. Arnold, 28, accepted a deal that comes with an eight-year prison sentence, though his attorney said he expects Arnold will likely serve closer to three years.

Still, Yolanda Rivera said the sentence was “extremely severe” and called for her daughter’s former partner, Carlos Baker, to be held accountable.

“Krystal deserves justice,” said Yolanda Rivera, who has filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that Baker had been struggling to accept her daughter’s decision to end their romantic relationship when he fatally shot her.

The shooting happened as Baker and Rivera chased Arnold into a Chatham apartment on June 5, 2025.

After Baker kicked down the door of the apartment, the officers encountered a second man, Adrian Rucker, pointing a rifle in their direction, according to police and court records.

Body camera footage released last week shows that Baker turned and appeared to stumble after kicking in the door and seeing the gun. He then fired a single shot that struck Krystal Rivera.

Baker waited more than 90 seconds before checking on Krystal Rivera as she was gasping for breath. Baker allegedly “left her to die,” according to Yolanda Rivera's lawsuit.

“The officer failed to render aid when it was critically needed,” Yolanda Rivera said in court. “It’s difficult to accept Arnold should bear the weight.”

When officers searched the apartment, they found a second rifle, a Glock handgun and ammunition, according to Cook County prosecutors. They also found bags and jars of heroin, cocaine and marijuana, as well as fake IDs from multiple states that had Rucker’s photo.

Arnold was picked up on a warrant for a parole violation weeks later, an arrest report shows. He was found with 11 bags of suspected crack cocaine.

Both Rucker and Arnold had long criminal records, according to court documents. Arnold was convicted on gun charges in March 2023 and sentenced to seven years in prison. He has been sentenced to prison in at least two other gun cases.

Arnold pleaded guilty to a felony gun possession charge Thursday in exchange for an eight-year sentence. It will run concurrently with a three-year sentence for a separate drug possession charge. He has already received almost a year credit for time served.

“I think my client got a just sentence based on what he was charged with,” said Arnold’s attorney, Michael Clancy. “I think everyone has to remember he was not charged with the death of the officer for having anything to do with causing the death of the officer.”

Baker's attorney declined to comment Thursday.

Baker has been the subject of more than a dozen misconduct complaints. It’s an unusually high amount as only 5% of Chicago police had six or more misconduct complaints from 2018 through 2023, according to data collected by the Invisible Institute.

He picked up five complaints as a probationary officer, when he could have been summarily fired because he had few union protections.

In one case, he was accused of flashing a gun at a woman he’d met online while she was on a date with another man at a North Side bar, records show. The woman later refused to cooperate with investigators, and Baker faced no disciplinary action in that case.