Man sentenced for violent hijacking
A man was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison for a violent attack against a female accomplice's friend who they lured into a Clarendon Hills parking lot after asking him for a favor.
The friend said he managed to escape despite having a gun pointed at his face, whiskey bottle smashed over his head, and being repeatedly stabbed before the defendants fled in his blue 2004 Dodge van.
"Every time I look in the mirror, I see the scars from what the defendant did to me," the 41-year-old man said. "I trust people much less because of this."
Joseph A. Solis, 26, of Hickory Hills, received the 12-year prison term for aggravated vehicular hijacking. He pleaded guilty Jan. 9.
His co-defendant, Martha K. Alencastro, 19, of Posen, is serving 15 years in prison. She pleaded guilty last summer to a similar offense, but later asked a judge to toss out her plea and sentence and give her a trial. Her request is pending.
Alencastro admitted asking her friend for a ride Feb. 22, 2008, to her former apartment complex on the 200 block of Oxford Street in Clarendon Hills, where she had been evicted and needed to pick up a few items.
Prosecutor Steven Knight said the defendants made up the ride story as a ruse to set up the man. After they arrived, Alencastro put a fake gun to his head and ordered him to remain still.
He tried to flee, but Solis approached the van on foot and smashed the whiskey bottle over the man's head.
"That is when Martha cut me from behind," said the man, who was hospitalized for one day. "She cut my neck and stabbed me in the shoulder and in my stomach. I yelled for help and people started coming out. I escaped and started running toward the buildings."
The man said he has about $13,000 in uncovered medical bills.
Solis apologized for the crime, which he attributed to illegal substance abuse. Solis has taken self-help classes during the past year he has spent in the DuPage County jail awaiting trial.
DuPage Circuit Judge Peter J. Dockery presided over Friday's sentencing hearing. Solis faced six to 30 years in prison.
"This crime has nothing to do with alcohol or drug abuse," Knight said. "It was committed by the defendant because of his affection for the female defendant. They lured the victim into this parking lot. Each had a weapon. Each attacked him. They earned a lengthy prison sentence."