Man gets 80 years for Rolling Meadows murders

Almost two years to the day after the Dec. 14, 2006, murders of Buffalo Grove's Catonis "Tony" Jones and Sharmaine "Cookie" Gregory, a Cook County judge sentenced Robert Young Thursday to a total of 80 years in prison.

Last month, a jury convicted the 32-year-old Young, formerly of Hapfield Drive in Arlington Heights, of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Gregory, 42, and second-degree murder in the stabbing death of her boyfriend Jones, 39, with whom Young had a volatile relationship.

Judge Thomas Fecarotta imposed maximum sentences of 60 years for Gregory's death and 20 years for Jones'. Those sentences will run consecutively. Young also received 15 years for a related burglary conviction, but it will run concurrently with the other sentences.

Before sentencing, Young expressed remorse to Gregory's 19-year-old son, Tywaune Kennedy.

"For what it's worth, I didn't mean for it to happen," Young said.

Later, Kennedy said he forgave Young, adding that he hopes Young "gets to know God like I know God, and that God will help him get through this tough time like I have."

"I thank him for being man enough to stand up to me an apologize," he said.

In mitigation, defense attorneys Jim Mullenix and Bernard Sarley put forensic psychologist Michael Rabin on the witness stand. Rabin, a 30-year veteran of Cook County's Department of Forensic Clinical Services, diagnosed Young with post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic depression and dissociative episodes.

Rabin said the conditions resulted from trauma Young sustained as a child and from the repeated sexual assaults and beatings he had endured in prison. At Thursday's sentencing hearing in Rolling Meadows, Rabin testified Young said his mother had abandoned him in a restaurant when he was 2; his stepbrother sexually assaulted him when he was 9; at 15, he was robbed at gunpoint of his coat and told by his mother to get it back or steal another; and in eighth grade, his best friend committed suicide in front of him. As a result, Young perceives threats where none exist and he overreacts to minor incidents, Rabin said.

"In those instances, he feels his life is at stake even if that's an unreasonable assumption," he said. "That's one of the symptoms of PTSD."

Prosecutor Marilyn Hite-Ross read a statement from Gregory's brother, Tyrone, who wrote that he learned of his sister's death on the 5 o'clock news the day he and his fiance announced their engagement. Of his wedding day, he wrote, "The happiest day of our life was bitter because Cookie wasn't there."

Calling Young "heartless and selfish," Tyrone Gregory requested a life sentence.

"This defendant has been doing life on the installment plan," said Hite-Ross, noting Young's convictions for armed robbery and residential burglary, possession of contraband in a penal institution, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and obstruction of justice dating back to 1995.

"He had no regard for the sanctity of the human life of others," she said of Young, who was on parole at the time of the murders. "This defendant is a danger and threat to society."

In his request for mercy, Mullenix pointed out the profound effects of abuse on his client.

"He does act like a volcano ready to explode," said Mullenix. "He does act like a cornered rat sometimes. He feels he has no other recourse than to strike out, owing to his illness and experience."

Fecarotta said many people suffer worse, yet remain law-abiding citizens.

"The court can't allow this horrible conduct to be justified by childhood treatment," he said. "I do consider the defendant's past as mitigating, but this defendant is a risk to society."

The sentence pleased Hite-Ross, whose prosecution of the case marks her last as an assistant Cook County state's attorney.

"Our goal is to seek justice and protect society. This was done by the sentence imposed," said Hite-Ross, who takes over as Winnebago County's deputy state's attorney of the criminal prosecution division this month.

The sentence came as no surprise to Mullenix and Sarley, who saved Young from a possible lethal injection when they convinced the jury to vote for second-degree murder in Jones' death. Young is relieved he didn't receive life, said Mullenix, adding that his client wants to receive treatment in prison for his disorders.

Sentence: Victim's son says he has forgiven killer