A man was sentenced to 62 years Thursday for killing an expectant father in a road confrontation as they drove on 165th Street.
Trinidad Cervantes, now 20, of Hammond and formerly Chicago, was convicted last month in the May 2, 2023 shooting death of Rajesh “Reggie” Bhagwandeen, 26.
Cervantes was driving back from a work job in Lowell. He said he was afraid for his life, and shot in self-defense after he claimed he saw Bhagwandeen reaching for a gun. No weapon was later found on the victim.
Investigators concluded Cervantes shot seven times from a box truck into the victim’s lower, 1990s-era BMW. He received 55 years for murder and seven for a gun enhancement. His final three years would be served in the Lake County Community Corrections program.
His lawyer John Cantrell indicated he may appeal.
Police arrived at 5:09 p.m. at the crime scene near 165th Street and Calumet Avenue.
The driver’s door on Bhagwandeen’s black 1996 BMW was still open. The car was in the middle of the street. It had four bullet holes with seven bullet casings found on the street. He had just left work as a mechanic at a nearby car dealership.
A white “box truck” pulled up alongside him west on 165th before shots rang out, according to witnesses. It swerved around a couple of cars in oncoming traffic, then headed north on Calumet Avenue. Cervantes was later arrested at a relative’s home in Illinois.
Bhagwandeen rescued stray pets and played bingo with seniors in Whiting, his aunt Bina Bhagwandeen Maharaj said. He was “relaxed” and “easy-going.”
He was a “young” and “vibrant” man; his death was the “hardest thing our family has faced,” she said. They were robbed of his future, including watching him don traditional Hindu bridegroom attire someday at a wedding.
His brother Devraj Bhagwandeen said they were supposed to graduate together from Ivy Tech. Reggie was pursuing a degree in automotive technology. He was preparing himself to be a father — to a girl — cooking a big meal for the first time weeks before he died.
In lengthy remarks, his mother Shevon Bhagwandeen said she was left in “utter despair.”
“We were supposed to go first,” she said, raising her voice at Cervantes. She never hated anyone previously.
“I hate you,” she said. “You will pay for what you have stolen from our family.”
Cervantes’ mother emotionally asked Judge Samuel Cappas to show leniency, saying her son had never been in the criminal justice system before.
“As a mother, I see pain,” she said, referring to his facial tattoos. “I see him hurting behind it. He’s scared.”
His sister Aaliyah Cervantes said her brother’s life changed when he was hospitalized after he was beaten and robbed at gunpoint trying to pick his girlfriend up from a party in January 2023. His sense of safety was warped and he started carrying a gun, she said.
Deputy Prosecutor Brad Carter said the 165th Street shooting was unprovoked, later saying it as a “bold attack.”
Cervantes’ explanations were never consistent. In jailhouse calls, he acted as if someone else did this to him, Carter said.
Cantrell argued Cervantes had no criminal record and was “polite” and “well-mannered” in his office. It was a “split-second” decision for a 19-year-old, he said.
Cervantes was shot at 12 and hospitalized for the January 2023 beating, Cantrell said. He asked for a minimum sentence, plus the agreed 7-year term for the gun enhancement.
He was the “least of the worst,” the lawyer said. “I believe he is.”
Carter retorted that Cervantes got at least some of his facial tattoos while in jail. He got caught smoking marijuana and destroying mattresses in jail.
Cervantes said he “never ever wanted this in my life.” He was not “looking for trouble.” He had plans to get a house and start a family with his then-girlfriend.
“I’m not a gangster,” he said.
In sentencing, Judge Samuel Cappas questioned if Cervantes’ remorse was “genuine,” but that weighed against no prior record. The shooting – during rush hour on a busy street — was “spontaneous” and “unnecessary,” he said.
