Streamwood man sentenced to 52 years in prison for murder of his 'best friend'

Salvatore Scardino

A 29-year-old Streamwood man convicted in April of fatally shooting a man he described as his best friend was sentenced Monday to 52 years in prison.

Salvatore Scardino claimed at trial that he was defending himself and his property when he killed Kwemi Hardwick, 31, on April 22, 2022, after the two men spent the evening at a Bartlett sports bar eating, drinking and play video slots.

In sentencing Scardino to seven years above the minimum, Cook County Judge Joseph Cataldo referenced Scardino's lack of significant criminal history and a “somewhat impressive litany” of letters from prison officials of Cook County attesting to his work ethic and character.

The judge also noted letters from Scardino's family and evidence of the educational programs he has completed behind bars since his 2022 arrest.

“It’s definitely something to consider,” Cataldo said. “But we can't lose sight of the fact that we find ourselves in a situation here where a gun is in the wrong hands at the wrong time.

“It could have been a simple argument between friends, a minor fight at best,” he added.

Instead, Hardwick's life was tragically cut short “because of what amounts to absurdities, when you look back on it now,” Cataldo said, adding that “the senseless violence cannot be ignored.”

Scardino, who has already spent 780 days in custody, must serve his entire sentence before being eligible for parole.

Trial testimony indicated the friends argued after Hardwick won $1,000 on a video slot machine. A bartender and friend of the two men said she heard them “talking intensely” and a short time later saw a Scarabino “speeding” outside the bar. Hardwick drove off, leaving Scardino behind, authorities said.

Hardwick later showed up at Scardino's home and after further arguing, prosecutors said, Scardino shot him several times in the back and head.

The defense claimed Hardwick first strangled Scardino, pushed him onto the couch and took a bottle of cologne.

Hardwick's loss is “far-reaching and deeply felt,” his sister, Karima Hardwick, said Monday. Her four heartbroken children adored their uncle, who provided them with the essential “love, support and security,” she added.

Hardwick's mother, Carma Hardwick, described her son as a sincere, hardworking and sentimental man who possessed a passion for life, a huge heart and a smile that lit up a room.

“Words are too weak to define what Kwemi meant to us,” she wrote to the court. “No sunshine, no peace, no heartbeat, no joy, that’s what we feel without Kwemi.”