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Wheaton man gets 5 years for drugs, stabbing

A 32-year-old Wheaton man was sentenced Thursday to two concurrent five-year prison terms for selling heroin to undercover agents and an unrelated stabbing of a fellow drug dealer.

Martin Favela, of the 0N000 block of Pleasant Hill Road in Wheaton, pleaded guilty recently to delivery of less than 14 grams of heroin and aggravated battery.

West Chicago police officer Rob Peterson testified during the sentencing hearing that Favela stabbed the 20-year-old victim in the face and chest on Dec. 29, 2012, after the victim attempted to sell $40 worth of marijuana to Favela and three other men who were driving in a van.

When the men took the drugs and refused to pay, the victim climbed onto the side of the moving van and was repeatedly knifed by Favela with a four-inch, lock-handle blade. Peterson said Favela claimed he was struck in the head during the scuffle and stabbed the victim “to get him off.”

“The victim was standing in the door frame of the van when a fight ensued,” Peterson said. “(The victim) did not want to give up his marijuana.”

Favela confessed to the stabbing several days later after being arrested on the heroin-dealing charges.

West Chicago Police Officer Daniel Herbert also testified that in late 2012, Favela sold heroin to a 17-year-old confidential informant on three separate occasions.

Favela's mother and the mother of one of his three children testified that, despite his daily marijuana habit and criminal history, Favela is a loving and doting father who provides for his family and misses his children.

Jessica Villa, the mother of Favela's young daughter, said he had recently admitted he had made mistakes and needed help for his depression and drug habit.

Assistant State's Attorney Steve Knight, however, said mistakes are “unintended things.”

“You're not making enough money selling marijuana so you move to heroin. That's not a mistake. A man is stabbed in the face and stabbed in the chest. That's certainly not a mistake,” Knight said, seeking a sentence of six years. “He's in a van stealing weed from another drug dealer.”

Favela will get credit for the 416 days he's been in custody in the DuPage County Jail and will have to serve half of his sentence before being eligible for three years of parole.

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