Ex-Prospect Hts. man gets 16 years for murder

The family of Wenceslao Gonzalez waited 15 years for authorities to bring back to the U.S. the man they believed responsible for his death.

The family waited another year to hear a Cook County judge pronounce Moises Bahena guilty of second-degree murder in the Christmas Day 1994 shooting of Gonzalez, 23, who lived in the same Prospect Heights apartment complex as Bahena.

That adds up to a total of 16 years, which equals the sentence Cook County Circuit Court Judge Hyman Riebman imposed on the 62-year-old Bahena Thursday in Rolling Meadows.

Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Shilpa Patel asked for the 20-year maximum, as much for the murder as for what Bahena did afterward.

The shooting — which Patel described as an “ambush” — followed several confrontations between friends and relatives of Gonzalez and friends and relatives of Bahena beginning the evening of Dec. 24, 1994. After he shot Gonzalez, Bahena, a legal U.S. resident at the time, fled to Mexico where he lived with his wife and four children until authorities arrested him on a warrant in June 2009, Patel said.

“For approximately 15 years, this defendant was enjoying his life, living in Mexico,” said Patel. “This defendant had a good life prior to his conviction for this crime.”

All the Gonzalez family had were questions, she said.

Urging Riebman to impose the minimum four-year sentence, defense attorney Ed Edens pointed out that Bahena has no criminal background here or in Mexico.

“He doesn't have as much as a speeding ticket on his record,” Edens said of his client, who has no formal education and has been working since he was 8 years old.

“My client attempted to calm these fights down,” said Edens, who rejected prosecutors' claims that Bahena ambushed Gonzalez, known as “El Toro.”

Edens insisted that Bahena feared for his life because he believed the victim had a knife. Shooting Gonzalez “ was a last-ditch effort to try to stop this kid from coming at him,” Edens said.

Cook County Circuit Court Judge John Scotillo found Bahena guilty of second-degree murder on Jan. 5. Scotillo, who retired in January, rejected Bahena's self-defense claims, stating he found Bahena's fear unreasonable.

“What made it unreasonable to him (Scotillo) made it unreasonable to me,” said Riebman in pronouncing his sentence. “Mr. Bahena murdered Wenceslao Gonzalez and there was no legal justification.”

“You murdered a man. You snuffed out his life. You committed the ultimate crime and the punishment has to be in accordance with that,” Riebman said.

Wenceslao Gonzalez's brother, Raul expressed disappointment at the sentence, saying the family hoped Bahena would receive the maximum.

Bahena received credit for 672 days he has been in U.S. custody since authorities located him in Mexico. He must complete at least 50 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.