Accomplice to murder argues killer got less time

Jose Horta didn't kill David Campbell. He didn't even touch the 27-year-old Waukegan man, who was beaten, tortured with a blow torch and then suffocated with plastic bags in 2011 before his body was dumped in the Penny Road Pond near Barrington.

So why, Horta wonders, is he serving 59 years in prison while the man authorities believe killed Campbell and the man who plotted his brutal slaying will both spend at least 24 fewer years behind bars?

The 2nd District Illinois Appellate Court answered that question this week in a 38-page decision rejecting the Beach Park man's request for a more lenient sentence.

'Greatly facilitated'

Although Horta purportedly never laid a finger on Campbell, justices said he's as responsible for the killing as the other two are. After all, the ruling notes, Horta pointed a gun at Campbell throughout his ordeal, allowing his co-defendants to torture and kill the man they mistakenly believed had sexually assaulted a friend.

“By focusing on what he did not do, defendant slights the serious things that he did do,” Justice Kathryn E. Zenoff wrote in the unanimous ruling. “Defendant did not discharge the gun while Campbell was being murdered, but by pointing the gun at Campbell and ordering him to get on his knees, then holding the gun toward Campbell while two other men beat him, he greatly facilitated the acts of others that actually caused Campbell's death.”

Further working against Horta is a state law - which the appellate court says was appropriate here - that says anyone armed with a gun while taking part in a murder gets 15 years tacked on to the sentence.

Horta, 24, was one of four people convicted in the killing of Campbell, who police say was murdered in a case of mistaken identity.

Roberto Guzman of Waukegan, who authorities say planned the killing, was sentenced to 29 years in prison after pleading guilty in May 2013.

Eric Castillo, who police said beat Campbell with a hammer and placed plastic bags over his head, was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Nadia Palacios, whose sentence was not at issue in Horta's appeal, received 40 years in prison for burning Campbell with a blow torch.

Honoring Trooper Lim

It's been more than 20 years since Illinois State Trooper Chong Lim was killed in a fiery crash caused by a drunken driver along I-90 in Hoffman Estates.

Today, Lim's family and colleagues will gather near the location of his death to honor his courage and dedicate the Route 59 overpass above the tollway in his memory.

Lim was 29 and a five-year state police veteran when he was killed in the line of duty on June 5, 1995. Lim had stopped his patrol car along the interstate that night to write a speeding ticket. A pickup truck slammed into its back end, causing the car to burst into flames with the trooper trapped inside.

The pickup's driver, a 31-year-old Carpentersville man, later was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to reckless homicide.

Lim had been assigned to state police District 15 - which patrols the Chicago-area interstates - about a month before his death. The district's operations area in Oak Brook was named in his honor on the anniversary of the fatal crash in 1996.

Beware the grinches

Ah, the holidays. The season of good cheer, peace on earth, unselfish giving ... and scams.

Wait ... scams? Yep.

There are plenty of grinches out there looking to take advantage of your generosity to stuff their stockings with ill-gotten loot. The Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois this week issued its “12 Scams of Christmas” list detailing some of the more common holiday ripoffs.

Among them:

The Secret Sister Exchange, a social media scam that claims if you buy a $10 gift and send it to a “secret sister,” you will receive anywhere from six to 36 in return.

Fake shipping notifications that get shoppers to give out personal information.

Phony charities.

Seasonal travel scams.

The ever-popular “help” scam, in which impostors claiming to be a grandchild, niece, nephew or friend call saying they need emergency financial help to cover medical or legal expenses while traveling abroad.

For a complete list, visit www.bbb.org/chicago.

Shining star

Congrats to Lindenhurst police officer Gina Warda, who's been named the 2016 Law Enforcement Shining Star by the Kiwanis Club of Lindenhurst.

Warda received the award for her outstanding service to the community both while on duty at various local schools programs and during her off hours, according to the club.

Got a tip? Have a question? Please email Charles Keeshan and Susan Sarkauskas at copsandcrime@dailyherald.com, or call our tip line at (847) 427-4483.