West Chicago man gets 10 years for ball-peen hammer attack
A West Chicago man was sentenced this week to 10 years in prison for trying to kill another man by hitting him with a hammer.
Javier Garcia, 22, of the 300 block of Wilson Street, will have to serve at least 85% of his sentence, but will get credit for the time he has been in the DuPage County jail since his arrest on May 22, 2018.
Charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon were dropped.
Garcia agreed to plead guilty Jan. 6 in exchange for prosecutors agreeing not to request a sentence of more than 10 years. Attempted murder is a Class X felony, punishable by six to 30 years in prison.
Garcia and three other people drove to a house in Glendale Heights where a friend of the victim lived. Garcia threw a 2-pound ball-peen hammer at the victim, hitting him in the head and knocking him out.
Garcia then picked up the hammer and hit the man several more times, including once in the chest and once in the head.
The victim was hospitalized, in a coma, with facial and skull fractures.