McHenry man sentenced to 30 years in stabbing death

A McHenry County Judge categorized the 2008 stabbing death of a McHenry teen as the definition of senseless before sentencing a close friend of the victim to 30 years in prison Friday afternoon.

Victor Bandala-Martinez, 22, of McHenry, was found guilty in May of first degree murder for stabbing Yair Cabrera, 17, in the neck with a knife and fork during an altercation outside of a house party in McHenry.

"I see a lot of problem behavior in this courtroom some of it is explicable, some of it is not," Judge Joseph Condon said. "I think about this case a lot ... there is no better definition of the word 'senseless.' "

Condon added that after hearing evidence Friday, the case also defined the word "cruel."

In sentencing Bandala-Martinez, Condon said he was "mindful that the defendant murdered someone he had no reason to harm and someone who was loved by a woman and someone the defendant had every reason to be extremely grateful to."

Defense attorney Christopher Harmon asked the judge to sentence Bandala-Martinez to 20 years, noting the defendant's lack of an appreciable criminal history.

But Assistant State's Attorney Michael Combs cited Bandala-Martinez's gang affiliations and asked the judge to sentence Bandala-Martinez to 40 years.

"The situation could have been avoided," Combs said.

During a lengthy statement, Bandala-Martinez pleaded for forgiveness from Cabrera's mother, whom Bandala-Martinez said treated him like a son when he first moved to the United States as a teenager from Mexico. He also said Cabrera was like a brother to him.

"All of this is a nightmare that I cannot wake from two years ago," Bandala-Martinez said. "I wish all of this was just a dream. I miss him a lot."

The court also heard statements from Bandala-Martinez's mother, as well as the victim's mother.