27 years in prison for 2015 Aurora party murder of Plainfield man
A 25-year-old Aurora man was sentenced to 27 years in prison after pleading guilty to gunning down a Plainfield man outside a party in Aurora in September 2015.
Marquitte L. West, of the 1000 block of Woodview Court, Aurora, was set for a jury trial this week in Kane County and pleaded guilty Monday morning, prosecutors said.
He faced 20 to 60 years if convicted of first-degree murder, plus another 25 years in prison if jurors determined he fired the shot that killed Derrick Page, 23, of Plainfield.
Under state law, West must serve 100 percent of his 27-year prison term. He gets credit for about 40 months he was held at the Kane County jail on $2 million bail.
West was accused of shooting Page in the head during a fight outside a Sept. 5, 2015, party on the 600 block of North Lake Street, Aurora police said.
Page was shot about 12:45 a.m. near Lake Street and Illinois Avenue after a disturbance broke out near the party, which was held in a rental hall.
Page died a day later from his injuries at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.
"This defendant was an uninvited guest at a party," said State's Attorney Joe McMahon. "His decision to shoot and kill Derrick Page was a senseless and inexplicable act of violence. Derrick Page was helping a friend who was involved in a fight. Marquitte West was there to cause trouble, and needlessly and tragically ended a young man's life."
Authorities secured an arrest warrant for West in mid-October 2015, but he had fled to Virginia, police said, and the charges could not be unsealed until he was returned to Illinois in early November 2015.
West had previous arrests in Kane County for contact with gang members while on probation, court records show.