After pleading guilty a year ago to aggravated DUI resulting in the death of a young Golden Prairie resident, a man facing a 20-year prison sentence has asked that a judge to allow him to take back his guilty plea because his original attorney misled him, as reported by the Rockford Register Star and WIFR.com.
Judge John Truitt sentenced J.B., 22, for the DUI death of C.K., 20, after a car crash that occurred a little after midnight on August 26, 2010.
J.B. claims that his former attorney, Kunal Kalkarni, had assured him that his guilty plea would amount for no more than a seven-year prison sentence. According to J.B., Kalkarni said that seven years of prison time would be the "worst case scenario."
J.B. was driving at approximately 100 mph in his purple Chrysler Sebring when he ran a red light and crashed into C.K.'s black Honda Civic at the intersection of Newburg Rd. and S. Perryville Rd. J.B., a prior felon, was also found to be legally drunk with a blood alcohol percentage of .115, and marijuana was also found in his system.
Glenn Jazwiec, J.B.'s new attorney, argued that the former attorney promised his client, through his word only, a lesser sentence in exchange for his guilty plea. Judge Truitt rejected the motion to withdraw J.B.'s original plea and said, "Quite frankly, the court does not find the defendant credible."
Truitt had his own record of J.B.'s sentencing. The judge read, aloud, what the court transcripts recorded on March 23, 2011: That he had personally told J.B. of the amount of time in jail he faced for each count that he chose to plead guilty to.
J.B., at the time of the sentencing, told the judge that he understood but that he had been given no promise in exchange for his guilty plea
Renee Dehn-Miller, the prosecutor in the case, queried J.B. if he had lied to Truitt and J.B. responded, "I didn't know what I was doing," and that he had "never been in trouble like this before. This is different … with a whole sentencing and everything."
Jazwiec further argued that if the guilty plea could not be withdrawn at this time his client's sentence should be reduced. The judge rejected the argument.
J.B. is expected to serve a minimum 85 percent of his sentence.
Along with the class two felony of aggravated DUI involving death, J.B. was sentenced for unlawful possession of a gun by a felon, failure to have a FOID card while in possession of a gun and ammunition and violating his probation from a previous conviction.
Since the death of C.K. a DUI checkpoint has been named in his honor. A.K., C.K.'s father said, "Unfortunately, this is what we are left with…"
If you are currently facing charges of DUI, DWI, OUI or OWI, contact a DUI attorney for representation in court. It is rare to see a change in plea request, but this article shows how important it is to understand court proceedings at all times.