‘My Life Could Be Over’: Chicago Mom of Two Could Face Decades In Prison for Shooting of Woman Who Ambushed Her, But She Never Pulled the Trigger
A Chicago mother of two is battling a weapons conviction she was saddled with after a fight last year ended in gunfire, but she maintains that she never shot anyone.
Lakesha Harris has been sitting in the Cook County Jail for more than a year and was recently found guilty of several charges in connection with a shooting on Jan. 8, 2025, that injured a 26-year-old woman, according to WFLD.
During a jailhouse interview, Harris said that she was home that day when she was visited by the mother of her now-ex-boyfriend’s daughter and another woman.
Harris was dating the toddler’s father at that time and was caring for the child during the father’s custodial period.
Harris said that she and the 2-year-old girl’s mother had planned a routine meetup at an agreed-upon location to exchange the child. But then, the mom and her friend showed up uninvited at her home.
“We had an agreement to meet at the same gas station,” Harris said. “She had not been given my address or permission to come to my house ever.”
She said the pair jumped her as soon as she stepped out of the house. Doorbell camera footage shows a woman even waiting outside Harris’ home.
“On my way walking out of the house, I was ambushed,” Harris said. “I’m scared for my life.”
Text messages exchanged with Harris’ ex-boyfriend show the woman threatening to beat Harris. Harris said the woman has made threats in the past but has never followed up on them until the fight last year.
She is now fighting conflicting accounts of the incident.
While a police report states that Harris was found on top of the woman, aiming a purple handgun at her, body camera footage reportedly showed the woman on top of Harris when officers arrived.
One individual is heard telling police the women were “fighting over a weapon.” When Harris tries to give her side of the story, one officer tells her, “I understand you were jumped on.”
Despite the texts and inconsistent reports, Harris was still charged. She said police did not search the other women or test them for gunshot residue.
“I told the police on scene, ‘She have a knife. She have a gun,’” Harris said. “They wasn’t searched.”
Police reports state no knife was found and don’t mention a second firearm.
Harris said she has a concealed carry license. She maintained her gun was in her purse at the time of the fight, and somehow made its way into the hands of the other woman, who shot herself with it.
“I don’t know how the gun came out the purse,” she said. “I don’t know how that gun got in her hand.”
“Did you pull the trigger?” a reporter asked.
“No, I did not,” Harris responded.
Harris worked for the United States Postal Service for 10 years before her arrest. She said she has never been arrested or charged.
Harris said she lost her job when she was jailed, missed several significant milestones in her children’s lives, and was left heartbroken when her boyfriend left her.
“I missed two birthdays in here,” she said. “I miss my daughter’s graduation. I miss prom. I miss college.”
A jury rejected Harris’s self-defense claims during a bench trial and convicted her on aggravated battery with discharge of a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm toward an occupied vehicle, and reckless discharge of a firearm endangering others.
She could face decades in prison at her sentencing in May.
Harris is hoping the judge will reconsider the conviction entirely, order her time served and wipe her record clean.
“My life could be over,” Harris said. “That’s not right. The law needs to be changed.”