Man in love triangle gets 9-year prison term

Consumed by jealousy, Tomas Galindo lusted for revenge.

So, the typically mild-mannered bagel shop manager forced his way into the apartment of a Naperville man who he suspected was having an affair with Galindo's wife.

To even the score, Galindo repeatedly stabbed the man Aug. 2, 2006, before fleeing Illinois with his two children.

The 38-year-old Aurora man was sentenced Monday to nine years in prison for the crime on the city's west side.

On the eve of his trial, Galindo instead pleaded guilty to an attempted murder charge.

Prosecutors said a knife-yielding Galindo attacked the man after confronting him about 7 p.m., in his apartment on the 1300 block of Crabapple Court. The two men were former neighbors in West Chicago.

Galindo later fled the area with his children, ages 6 and 4, in a silver 1999 Mercury Mariner minivan. Police issued an Amber Alert for the children. A few hours later, Galindo was arrested outside a convenience store near Madison, Wis.

The children, unhurt, were reunited with their mother. The stabbed man recovered from his injuries.

Galindo, who confessed in a videotaped police interview, has remained in the DuPage County jail on a $250,000 bond since his arrest.

His attorneys, Michael Burton and Gus Santana, said Galindo did not have a prior criminal history and avoided trouble during his nearly two years' in jail. Several people wrote letters of support, including former customers at the Naperville bagel shop he managed.

"He's really an all-around nice guy," Santana said. "His jealousy got the best of him. Honestly, he's really remorseful and very sorry the for the years he's going to spend away from his children."

DuPage Circuit Judge John Kinsella presided over his week's plea deal.

Galindo must serve 85 percent of the prison term, then he will be deported to his native Mexico. He faced 10 to 30 years behind bars if he lost at trial.