Baines sentenced after admitting to stabbing boyfriend
A 27-year-old Batavia woman was sentenced to 25 years in prison after admitting Thursday to stabbing her boyfriend to death during an argument in April 2012 in the city's first murder since 2004.
Latoya M. Baines, of the 1200 block of East Wilson Street, was initially charged with first-degree murder - which carries a 20- to 60-year sentence with no chance of early release - in the death of Gerald J. Jackson, 25, with whom she had a child.
Kane County prosecutors reduced the charge to second-degree murder, to which Baines pleaded guilty, along with a change of felony burglary that she entered an apartment with the intent to commit a battery with a knife.
Judge Susan Clancy Boles accepted the plea in which Baines must pay $11,450 restitution to Jackson's family to cover his funeral costs.
Assistant State's Attorney Mark Stadjohar said Baines, Jackson and others were at a friend's apartment on the 1100 block of East Wilson at about 1 a.m. April 30, 2012, when Baines became upset with Jackson and went to her apartment to get a knife.
She returned, argued with Jackson and their confrontation spilled into the hallway where she fatally stabbed him once in the chest.
"The defendant believed at this time that she was entitled to self-defense. However, that belief was unreasonable," Stadjohar told the judge.
Baines, who has been taking antidepressants since her arrest but was ruled fit to stand trial, did not have a previous criminal record other than traffic offenses.
Dressed in an orange jumpsuit with her hands shackled, Baines occasionally wept during the proceeding and appeared to mouth "I'm sorry" to friends and relatives in the gallery before being taken away.
After the sentence, friends and relatives of Baines declined to comment, as did defense attorney Sandra Byrd.
Jackson's father, Hal, said he was surprised at first when he heard prosecutors were considering reduced charges.
Hal Jackson wanted Baines to stay in prison longer, but said the resolution now means he might be able to see his granddaughter, now 4, whom Baines' father has custody of.
"It's been a long three years," Hal Jackson said. "To me, (Latoya and Gerald's disagreement) could have been handled in a totally different way."
Deborah Jackson, the victim's stepmother, said Baines cut Gerald's arm with a knife in 2011, requiring stitches, and had been abusive in the past.
"I fault the state," Deborah Jackson said. "They could have stopped this a long time ago. She was aggressive all the time. He just kept going back for more."
Despite the 25-year sentence, Baines could be out of prison in less than 10 years. She gets three years credit while being held at the Kane County jail since her arrest and, under state law, can have her prison term cut in half for good behavior.