An appellate court has affirmed the sentence of 50 years in prison for Juan Calderon, who was convicted in September 2022 in the gang-related execution of twenty-six-year-old Alexander Nicolas of West Chicago West Chicago man.
In his appeal of his conviction for first degree murder, Calderon claimed that his attorney was ineffective for failing to object to accountability jury instructions. Calderon also claimed that the Trial Court erred in admitting statements from his co-defendant and erred in imposing a fifty-year sentence.
In its decision, the Appellate Court rejected Calderon’s claims and found that at trial, “all the relevant factors favored a finding of accountability and, therefore, supported submitting the accountability instruction to the jury” and that “defense counsel was not ineffective for failing to object.” The Appellate Court also rejected Calderon’s claims that statements made by co-defendant Guillen were inadmissible hearsay, finding that “the court determined the State proved the existence of a conspiracy and allowed the statement to be admitted and we cannot say that decision was an abuse of the court’s discretion.” The Appellate Court also found that the Court did not err in sentencing the defendant.
The brutal circumstances of Nicolas’ murder weighed heavily in the sentencing.
During the evening of November 8, 2018, Alexander Nicolas was near his vehicle on East Forest Avenue in West Chicago when he was approached by two men, Juan Calderon of Aurora and Emilio Guillen of Rockford. The two men physically attacked and ultimately shot Nicolas in the head, with Guillen giving the order to shoot Nicolas and Calderon pulling the trigger.
After shooting Nicolas, the men got into Guillen’s car and fled the scene.
Nicolas was found in a pool of blood, dead, early the next morning.
“After being presented with overwhelming evidence of the defendants’ guilt, two independent juries found Juan Calderon and Emilio Guillen guilty of brutally beating and shooting Alexander Nicolas in the back of the head simply because they believed he belonged to a rival gang,” Berlin said at the time. “This senseless killing has left a permanent void in the lives of Alexander’s family and friends and I offer my condolences to them on their loss. Judge Reidy’s sentence of fifty years behind bars virtually ensures that Mr. Guillen will never again be a free man.”
In response to the Appellate Court’s decision, Berlin said “I thank the Appellate Court for their thorough analysis of this case and their finding that Mr. Calderon received a fair trial. The Appellate Court’s decision ensures that Mr. Calderon will not receive a new trial and his conviction and fifty-year sentence for first degree murder will stand.”
Guillen will be required to serve 100% of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
