Rolling Meadows man sentenced to three years for 2011 stabbing

A case of mistaken identity combined with a bad decision resulted in a three-year prison sentence for a Rolling Meadows man who pleaded guilty to aggravated battery Thursday in Rolling Meadows.

Edgar Marquez, 31, was riding his bicycle home on Aug. 8, 2011, when two men robbed and beat him in the 2300 block of Algonquin Parkway, said Marquez’s attorney, Cook County Assistant Public Defender Calvin Aguilar, who described his client as a hardworking man with no criminal history.

Marquez, of the 5000 block of Weber Drive, made his way home and retrieved a knife. He then returned to the scene of the beating to look for his attackers, prosecutors said during Marquez’s sentencing hearing before Cook County Judge Ellen Mandletort.

Marquez hid, waiting for his attackers to return. Hearing a noise, he jumped out and twice stabbed an innocent victim who Marquez later acknowledged had nothing to do with the initial beating, prosecutors said.

Two other people who witnessed Marquez’s attack on the man came to the victim’s aid, severely injuring Marquez who was hospitalized and placed on a respirator, Aguilar said. His victim survived the attack.

Mandletort said that while she considered the earlier attack on Marquez, she noted that his victim had nothing to do with it.

Marquez received credit for the 158 days he has spent in custody since his arrest. He must complete at least 50 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.