Wauconda man gets 70 years in dice game slaying

A Wauconda man was sentenced to 70 years in prison Friday for shooting to death the winner of a dice game at a Carpentersville apartment complex.

Michael J. Calabrese, 28, will not be eligible for parole until he is at least 98. He killed Edmund Edwards on May 1, 2005, outside the Fox View apartments.

Kane County prosecutors sought a death sentence for Calabrese, but Judge Philip DiMarzio said the crime, while tragic, did not warrant capital punishment, in part because it was not as vicious as other killings.

"It is indeed a sad commentary on society when a man being gunned down in the back is not as heinous as other murders," DiMarzio said.

Calabrese did not react to the decision, which capped a week of sentencing hearings. Calabrese was convicted of first-degree murder after a bench trial in late October.

But his mother wept as DiMarzio announced the sentence. She left the courtroom without comment.

Edwards, 25, was killed after he won at a dice game in the parking lot at the apartment complex.

Calabrese was a loser that night and tried to rob the Chicago Ridge man of his winnings. Edwards was shot as he tried to run away.

"He's a danger to the citizens of this county," prosecutor Bill Engerman said. "And with this sentence, he will not pose any threat to this community for the next 70 years."

The case is back in court again March 7 for a hearing on Calabrese's conviction and any attempts to reduce his sentence.

"He's happy he's not being executed," defense attorney Paul De Luca said. "He's looking forward to his appeal."

Calabrese was eligible for the death penalty in part because Edwards died during an attempted robbery. Though Illinois has a moratorium on executions, inmates still can be sent to death row.

The bid to secure a lethal injection for Calabrese was considered a long shot. Kane County has not sentenced anyone to death since 2001, when Luther Casteel was sentenced to die for killing two people and wounding 16 during a shooting rampage at JB's Pub in Elgin.

Then-Gov. George Ryan commuted the sentence to life in 2003.