Will County judge upholds 122-year sentence against Erick Maya

JOLIET – A judge has upheld the 122-year prison sentence for convicted murderer Erick Maya.

Judge Daniel Rozak ruled Wednesday on the sentence issued by Judge Robert Livas in October. Maya had sought a reduction in sentence, and his attorney argued that Livas allowed his personal feelings to play into his sentencing of Maya.

Rozak disagreed.

“Clearly, Judge Livas should’ve exercised greater restraint in what his comments were,” Rozak said. “[But] there was no abuse of discretion. These sentences are well within the guidelines.”

On Feb. 13, 2014, Maya, 24, ambushed his ex-girlfriend, Briana Valle, 15, and her mother, Alicia Guerrero, shooting them in the driveway of their Romeoville home. Valle died while Guerrero survived.

Maya was found guilty of murder, attempted murder and unlawful use of a weapon by a jury and faced a minimum of 79 years in jail. Livas sentenced him to 72 years in prison for the murder, 39 for attempted murder and 11 for the weapon offense and then retired from the bench in October.

Rozak said the sentences were on the “high end of the middle sentencing range” and Livas “had plenty to go.”

“The seriousness of the crime is the most important factor [in sentencing],” Rozak said. “For me, this wasn’t murder. It was more of an assassination and a cowardly one at that. The defendant showed absolutely no mercy to those two women in that car.”

At sentencing, Livas said Maya wore an “idiotic smirk on his face” throughout the trial. No smirk was seen Wednesday as Maya sat in the jury box throughout court proceedings. None of Valle’s or Maya’s relatives attended.

Rozak said a judge’s observations of a defendant’s demeanor can factor into determining an appropriate punishment without representing a personal bias.

“Clearly [Maya] blames the police. The prosecution. His own attorneys. He blames everyone,” Rozak said. “Judge Livas believed [his claims were] filled with contradictions, which I found interesting because that’s how it was for me in court – a lot of contradictions” in Maya’s claims to Rozak.