65 years for Aurora gang murder

A Kane County judge sentenced an Aurora gang member to 65 years in prison Thursday for the first of two murders he's accused of carrying out in March 2007.

Lorenzo Alvarez, 23, of the 700 block of Spring Street, was convicted in December of gunning down 36-year-old Aurora resident Oscar Campos on March 6, 2007, just blocks from East Aurora High School. Twelve days later, prosecutors say, he shot and killed another man, 24-year-old Cedric Foster of Aurora.

In a statement to the court Thursday, Alvarez offered a brief apology to Campos' family. But his attorney said later that he continues to maintain he is innocent.

“I'm sorry for what they're going through, Alvarez said. “But my family is going through the same thing. We all hurt in this situation.

Assistant State's Attorney David Belshan said Alvarez was walking home from a night class at East High with two Latin Kings gang associates when they spotted a van carrying rival gang members in the area of North and East streets.

After exchanging words and gang signs, Belshan said, Alvarez pulled out a 9 mm handgun and shot at Campos, striking him once in the back. Campos was then driven to a friend's house, where he later died of a bullet wound to the aorta.

“He was a beautiful person, and you should have given him a chance, Campos' sister, Irma Campos, told Alvarez in an emotional victim impact statement. “You should've given him a chance to live, just like the judge is giving you a chance to live behind bars.

Kane County Circuit Judge Timothy Q. Sheldon said he took into account Alvarez's “extensive history of criminality, which includes prior convictions for battery and assault, in sentencing him to 65 years for Campos' murder and charges related to the shooting.

Belshan said the stiff sentence should “send a message to Latin Kings gang members that the judicial system will not tolerate this behavior.

Alvarez, who will be in his early 80s before he is eligible for parole, remains charged with first-degree murder in Foster's killing. If convicted in that case, prosecutors said, he would face a mandatory life sentence.