Man sentenced to 13 years for home invasion
SANFORD J. SCHMIDT, The Telegraph 09/27/2005
EDWARDSVILLE -- A St. Louis County man was sentenced Monday to 13 years in a Marine home invasion case, despite testimony from two longtime police officers who testified the defendant went astray after his mother died of breast cancer.
Aaron J. Hughes, 20, was sentenced after the victim described 20 minutes of terror in which Hughes pushed his way into her home, armed with a gun, jumped on top of her, beat her and attempted to strangle her.
He may serve as little as half of the 13-year sentence. Circuit Judge Charles Romani said he was also going to recommend counseling and a chance to finish school and warned Hughes he would end up back in front of a judge some day if he does not take advantage of those opportunities.
Hughes was one of two men arrested shortly after the May 7, 2003, home invasion in Marine in which Hughes was accused of forcing his way into a home while armed with a gun, beating the victim, attempting to strangle her and stealing her husband’s motorcycle. The case of the second man, Derrail A. Tolen, 21, of University City, Mo., is pending.
The victim, Julie Weinbach, testified Hughes came to her home on two subsequent days, and on the second day, she was attacked. She said she let her guard down because Hughes was mannerly and well spoken. She thought he was joking and pushed the gun aside.
"He seemed like a nice guy," she testified, but since the crime, she has been paying a price for letting her guard down. She has suffered recurring nightmares and has been seeing a psychiatrist for her emotional trauma.
One of the officers, Michael Hubbard of the East St. Louis Police Department, said he is an assistant pastor at Hughes’ church in East St. Louis and Hughes was a straight A student and gifted athlete before his mother died when Hughes was 13.
"He was seen at church almost every Sunday. Here is a kid who spent 90 percent of his time with his mother. Before she passed, he was a straight A student. After she passed, he became despondent," Hubbard said.
He would come home and go to bed right after school. He became withdrawn and would not talk about his feelings, Hubbard testified.
Another officer, Lt. Ronnie Robinson of the St. Louis Police Department, said he is a friend of Hughes’ family.
"The death of his mother really ripped the core of his family. Aaron did not handle it well, at all. He was taken advantage of by some older men when his mother died, and he became very vulnerable," Robinson testified.
Both the officers, along with Hughes’ family members, pleaded for a lenient sentence to allow Hughes to be rehabilitated and avoid becoming a career criminal.
"Aaron doesn’t fit that mold. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t feel strongly about this kid’s future," Robinson said.
However, the officers said they do believe Hughes deserves punishment.
Assistant State’s Attorney Kyle Napp recalled the testimony of the victim. "He tried to strangle her. He was on top of her, hitting her. She was begging and pleading with him to stop," Napp argued.
She said Hughes’ name continued to turn up in police reports after he was released on bond.
In one incident, he was arrested riding a motorcycle in Montgomery Count in 2004, at a time when his bond conditions did not allow him to leave his home city.
"This was a year after he was given an opportunity to prove he could be rehabilitated," she argued.
That case and accusations about additional criminal activity have not been proven, Hughes’ attorney Bill Lucco said.
He argued that people still involved in the stolen motorcycle trade have implicated his client.
Circuit Judge Charles Romani said it is rare that a defendant receives such strong support from his family and friends in such cases.
Weinbach said in an interview she feels badly for Hughes’ family, but Hughes deserves the prison time. "He did something very, very bad, and he deserves what he got."
Hughes burst into tears when he made an apology during the hearing. "I guarantee, you won’t see me in court again," he said.
Hughes’ father, Jerry Hughes, said in an interview that he was not expecting as much as a 13-year sentence, but he urged his son to take advantage of the chance to get an education in prison.
"I told him to be very aggressive on the school part, and to take this opportunity to talk," he said.
Topic: Motorcycle thief receives 13 years /Illinois (Read 3128 times)