New sentencing date set for 2007 murder of Aurora WWII vet
A new sentencing date of Jan. 20, 2015, has been set for an Aurora man who killed World War II veteran Roscoe Ebey in May 2007.
Hector Mauricio, now 28, was originally sentenced to 60 years in prison, but an appellate court wiped out the sentence because a judge improperly considered Ebey's background when imposing the prison term.
Judge Susan Clancy Boles Thursday set the new date to sentence Mauricio, who faces between 45 years to life in prison for the murder of Ebey, 83, according to court records.
Kane County prosecutors say Mauricio broke into Ebey's Aurora Township home, stabbed him 36 times and tried to set the structure on fire.
Mauricio was caught at the scene after neighbor Leslie Fleming heard a commotion and dragged Mauricio by his hair out of Ebey's basement window and detained him until authorities arrived.
Prosecutors originally sought the death penalty for Mauricio, but dropped that plan after Gov. Pat Quinn abolished capital punishment in 2011.
Mauricio pleaded guilty and was sentenced by Judge Timothy Sheldon, who has since retired, in June 2011.
An appellate court panel ruled in March that Sheldon improperly considered Ebey's service in World War II, calling him a “member of the greatest generation” and a “very fine man.”
“Of course, we do not disagree with any of the trial court's sentiments,” the panel wrote. “Nevertheless, the trial court's implication was improper as it was unmistakable; because Ebey was a ‘very good man,' the defendant's crime was more serious that it otherwise would have been.”
Mauricio's guilty plea still stands and he is being held without bond at the Kane County jail.