Man Who Killed Romeoville Teen Seeks Lighter Sentence

Erick Maya. Credit: Will County Sheriff’s Office.

A former Cicero man who shot his 15-year-old ex-girlfriend to death and wounded her mother in early 2014 is trying to get his 122-year sentenced reduced.

Erick Maya, 24, appeared Tuesday in Will County court, where his attorney argued that the judge’s comments demonstrated a personal dislike of Maya during his sentencing in October, My Suburban Life reported.

“You can’t give a person less time because they’re pleasant and smile or more time because they frown,” attorney George Lenard argued Tuesday.

Retiring Will County Judge Robert Livas didn’t mince words when he sentenced Maya to more than a century behind bars for killing 15-year-old Briana Valle and injuring her mother, Alicia Guerrero.

• Retiring Judge Mocks Teen Girl’s Killer and the ‘Idiotic Smirk on His Face’
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“True justice, real justice, would be putting him and Briana’s father in a room together, but I can’t say that,” said Livas. “I can’t even think that—it violates the oath I’ve sworn to.”

Livas, who also mocked Maya’s size, went on to talk about the killer’s “idiotic smirk,” adding, ”no education, no job, lived in the apartments of others, didn’t even own a cell phone, no car — could women his own age find him as pathetic as I do?”

Maya reportedly met Briana on Facebook when she was just 13. After their relationship ended, the teen’s mother took out restraining orders against Maya and moved the family to Romeoville to get away from him.

In 2011, Maya was accused of beating a different 15-year-old girlfriend. He allegedly used a beer bottle and a metal pipe in the attack. He missed a court date for a probation status check exactly one week before he murdered Briana. At the time, a Cook County judge declined to issue a warrant for Maya’s arrest, noting the inclement weather on the date of the scheduled court appearance.

On Tuesday, Maya told the court he’s been “reading the law,” according to My Suburban Life, and believes his convictions should be merged into a single count.

Judge Daniel Rozak said he will issue a decision on Maya’s request for a reduced sentence in two weeks.

Also on Patch:

• Bolingbrook Teen Pleads Not Guilty; Mom Accuses ISIS of ‘Brainwashing Children’
• Bloody Ambush Beating on Will County Courthouse Steps
• Will County Judge’s Son Again Allowed Around Girlfriend He Allegedly Beat And Locked In Trunk Of Car

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