Carpentersville man sentenced to 25 years for murder

A Carpentersville man who killed a teen for asking his girlfriend to dance was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in prison.

Judge Grant Wegner sentenced Rafael Borja, 32, for the July 4, 2005, murder of Miguel Ramirez, 17, of Bartlett.

Ramirez asked Borja's then-girlfriend to dance at Azteca De Oro, a restaurant and nightclub near National and Raymond streets in Elgin. The girlfriend testified at trial that Ramirez had mistaken her for another woman, calling her by the wrong name. She said Ramirez never touched her.

Still, Borja and Freddie De La Sancha, 25, of Elgin, met the teen outside the club and beat him with fists and feet.

Ramirez died later that day from hemorrhaging in his skull and neck injuries. Kicks left 11 bruises to the back of his head, one to his neck and one to his chin. Ramirez also had swollen lips and bruises around his eye, likely from punches. Borja's cowboy boots had Ramirez's blood on them and matched impressions left on the teen's face.

Borja claimed he was taunted by a youth and fought back partly in self-defense and partly to send a message that he wasn't to be messed with.

Prosecutors discounted any claims of self-defense, pointing out that most of Ramirez's injures were to the back of his head and that Borja willingly went outside to confront Ramirez.

A Kane County jury convicted him in March of first-degree murder.

De La Sancha also was convicted of murder and is serving a 23-year-prison sentence for his part in the fight.

"Miguel's brother, Alex, asked the court for justice. Justice for Miguel and for his family. Now that both defendants will be behind bars for decades, the Ramirez family has its justice," said Assistant State's Attorney Greg Sams, who, with Assistant State's Attorney Mark Stajdohar, prosecuted the case.