A teen who stabbed to death another teen in August 2020 has been sentenced to three years probation and 100 hours of community service in exchange for a guilty plea of second-degree murder.
A Cook County, Chicago, judge also ordered the now 17-year-old high school senior and his parents to get counseling.
While we know the name of the 15-year-old who died, Elias Valdez, Judge Steven Bernstein ordered the name of the perpetrator not be released.
The Daily Herald reported on the development:
Valdez was a rising sophomore at Glenbrook South High School and a member of the wrestling team. He was found in the grassy parkway on the 1200 block of Greenwood Road about 7 p.m. Aug. 5, 2020, with multiple stab wounds to his chest. He died later that night during surgery at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. Police said it was the first murder in the village since 2004.
According to authorities, Valdez intended to buy marijuana from the defendant. After Valdez attempted to take the drugs without paying for them, the defendant chased him, authorities said. A struggle ensued during which Valdez ended up on top of the defendant, who reached for a utility tool that contained a blade, according to reports. Valdez was stabbed during a subsequent struggle.
Valdez’s family members wanted the defendant charged with first-degree murder and held in custody. Instead, he was charged with second-degree murder and held on home monitoring. Those orders sparked accusations of preferential treatment and led to protests at the Glenview Police Department and the Skokie courthouse in 2020.
Rev. Carl Guadagno read a victim impact statement in the courtroom from Valdez’s mother, Marcele Fierros, who described her life now as “living in a dark tunnel I’m not able to get through,” but she said her faith in God keeps her going.
“A mother doesn’t expect to bury a child so young and much less in such a tragic and overwhelming way,” Fierros wrote. “He was only 15 years old and had so many dreams to accomplish. His goals were to graduate from high school, study law enforcement and become a police officer.”
“When the defendant stabbed my son, he stabbed the heart of my family,” Fierros wrote.
Fierros referred to “white privilege” in her statement, implying the perpetrator is white, and said if a white person had been killed the outcome would have been different.
The lawyer for the defendant, however, denied that charge.
“There is no privilege here,” David Kerstein said. “There is no special treatment.”
“I see a child like you who has two parents concerned with his welfare … a bright kid with a bright future, and I wonder what are you doing in my courtroom,” Judge Bernstein said to the teen. “I don’t think you’re a murderer, but you killed this child and you have to live with that for the rest of your life.”
“You’ll never get closure,” Bernstein told the victim’s family. “I wish I could tell you you will. Your son will be in your heart forever.”
According to the Chicago Police Department’s weekly crime report for December 6 through December 12 overall crime was up 54 percent from this time last year.
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