Elgin woman gets 12 years in boyfriend’s death

A 29-year-old Elgin woman was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from an armed robbery gone bad at a Schaumburg hotel that left her accomplice dead and a would-be victim shot twice.

Kristian Branch, of the 300 block of West Chicago Street, admitted guilt to aggravated battery with a firearm and two counts of attempted armed robbery as part of a plea deal in which Cook County prosecutors dismissed a first-degree murder charge that could have landed her a minimum 20 years in prison.

The charges stemmed from the March 2010 killing of her boyfriend, Mario C. Charles, during a shootout at the Homestead Studio Suites Hotel in Schaumburg.

But Branch’s public defenders said they always maintained the murder charge against their client was wrong.

“We’ve maintained from the very beginning that Kristian Branch was not guilty of murder and we answered ready to defend her against that charge,” Assistant Public Defender Calvin Aguilar said. Branch’s trial was set to begin on Monday.

Authorities said Branch and Charles, 29, of Rockford, intended to rob four hotel guests in the early morning hours of March 16, 2010. A short time after entering the would be victims’ room, authorities said, Charles drew a .25-caliber handgun and demanded money.

A 26-year-old Minnesota man in the room responded by drawing his own .45-caliber handgun and exchanging shots with Charles, who was hit several times. He collapsed while trying to flee the hotel with Branch and later died.

Branch, who was shot in the foot during the exchange of gunfire, spoke in court before her sentencing Thursday, telling family members that accepting the plea deal “was the right decision.”

Branch has a history of arrests including charges for prostitution, manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance, battery, resisting arrest and criminal damage to property. She originally was charged with murder under an accountability theory in which anyone participating in criminal acts that lead to someone’s killing can be charged with murder.