Man gets 40 years for concrete block slaying

SPRINGFIELD -- A Sangamon County judge has sentenced a 20-year-old Springfield man to 40 years in prison for killing a teenager in 2007 by dropping a concrete landscaping block on his head.

In passing sentence Tuesday on Brandon J. Nelson, Circuit Court Judge John Belz called the killing "stupid and senseless."

Prosecutors at Nelson's trial in October said the victim, 19-year-old Devin Greff, had been fighting with Nelson's uncle and was already lying unconscious when Nelson dropped the concrete block on him.

Assistant State's Attorney Jamiela Kassem asked for a 35- to 40-year sentence for Nelson, while Sangamon County Public Defender Otwell asked for the allowable minimum of 20 years, saying Nelson had not started the fight and had been adversely affected by drinking and smoking marijuana since he was 13.