Elgin man gets 48 years for stabbings

Calandro Robinson insists he wasn't trying to kill his wife and her friend when he attacked the duo in the early morning hours of Feb. 28, 2005, stabbing them repeatedly.

He said it again Tuesday as he stood in his jail jumpsuit, turning to look at his victims and telling them he hopes they'll someday forgive him.

The judge didn't buy it.

"Your actions that night … belie your claim that you never intended to kill them," Cook County Judge James Etchingham told the Elgin man, calling the attack "cold, calculated and barbaric."

Robinson, 36, of 21 N. Chapel St., was convicted by a jury this fall of attempted first-degree murder, armed violence, home invasion and aggravated domestic battery.

On Tuesday, Etchingham sentenced him to 48 years in prison for the crimes. Under current Illinois law, he'll have to serve at least 85 percent of that or more than 40 years.

"I'm just glad the judge saw him for who he was," victim Akesha Scott said afterward. She said she had to play dead that night to stop Robinson's attack. She required surgery to repair the damage.

Robinson was convicted of returning to the Streamwood home he once shared with Scott shortly after midnight on Feb. 28, 2005, to kill her and her friend.

Authorities said he stabbed Scott's friend in the neck, shoulders, chest, hands and elbows while her two children were in the house. He also stabbed his wife in the driveway, authorities said.

Prosecutors pushed for a sentence of at least 60 years in prison, citing Robinson's extensive criminal history -- he has robbery and forgery convictions and an assault charge in his past -- and saying such a punishment would send a message that such vicious and calculated behavior won't be tolerated.

"His conduct is an abomination to all the law-abiding citizens," Assistant State's Attorney Marilyn Hite-Ross told Etchingham on Tuesday.

Assistant Public Defender Calvin Aguilar argued Robinson is a father who was loved by his son and who had tried to provide for his family.

And "from start to finish, (he) exhibited deep remorse for his actions," Aguilar said.

When given a chance to speak, Robinson said he was "not in my right frame of mind" that night and that he can't recall the details. But he said he never meant for things to go as far as they did.

Etchingham said Robinson could commit other crimes in the future if not behind bars and said he believes the children who witnessed the attack will never forget the horror.