Sentencing For Danny Rios' Killer Stopped By Tomczak Law Group: Here's Why It Happened

JOLIET, IL — More than two dozen family and friends of slain Izzy's bartender Danny Rios spent three hours gathered around Will County Courtroom 404, waiting for Circuit Judge Vincent Cornelius to sentence first-degree convicted murderer Patrick Gleason to prison on Tuesday morning. The victim's family has waited to hold Gleason accountable for the past seven years and eight months — and now they will have to wait even longer — at least two more months.

After hearing various arguments and remarks from Gleason's defense lawyers and the Will County State's Attorney's Office, Judge Cornelius chose not to sentence Gleason to prison on Tuesday, as the court calendar indicated. In fact, the 63-year-old Gleason will not be sentenced to the Illinois Department of Corrections at any point the rest of this year.

Cornelius will convene another hearing, called a status hearing for Gleason's case on Jan. 6. Perhaps after the Jan. 6 hearing, Gleason's sentencing will be put back on the judge's calendar, but that remains to be seen.

Tuesday's sentencing was stopped due to the last-minute efforts of Gleason's criminal defense lawyers, CJ Haney and Jeff Tomczak of downtown Joliet's Tomczak Law Group.

Although the defense lawyers found out that while they lost their motion asking Judge Cornelius to overturn the jury's verdicts and grant their client a new trial, Cornelius was more receptive to hear more discussion regarding their motion to declare the Illinois statute regarding the 25-year firearm enhancement to be unconstitutional.

According to Tomczak's filing, "This enhancement, as applied to defendant, constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment and a disproportionate penalty Under I, Section 11 of the Illinois Constitution as it fails to account for his severe intoxication and impaired mental state, rendering him unable to fully comprehend or recall the event, analogous to mental incompetency case."

Judge Cornelius told both sides to submit their respective legal briefs in writing in support of their arguments. Prosecutors from the Will County State's Attorney's Office said that they will bring in the Illinois Attorney General's Office, since the AG's office prefers to handle arguments involving constitutional claims.

Last week, on behalf of Gleason, Tomczak and Haney filed their motion, asking Judge Cornelius to declare the state's 25-year firearm enhancement unconstitutional "as applied to him pursuant to the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment."

On Oct. 1, after deliberating for less than 30 minutes, the jury convicted Patrick Gleason on all three charges, including first-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated battery.

Patch reported that Gleason faced a minimum mandatory sentence of 45 years, according to his defense attorneys. If Tomczak Law Group can convince Judge Cornelius to vacate the 25-year firearm enhancement, Gleason would only be looking at a minimum mandatory sentence of 20 years, of which he's already served nearly eight full years in custody, at the Will County Jail, where he has remained in detention since Joliet police booked him into custody on March 11, 2018.

"Patrons Of Bar Continued To Punch, Kick And Choke The Defendant": Tomczak

In support of their filing, Tomczak and Haney want Judge Cornelius to vacate the 25-year prison enhancement for Gleason, pointing out that "defendant has no prior violent history and no felony convictions whatsoever, factors that further highlight his diminished culpability and the disproportionate nature of the enhancement, as this isolated incident does not reflect a pattern of criminal behavior warranting such a severe mandatory add on."

"The incident arose from a bar altercation where defendant, heavily intoxicated after a concert, was provoked by a patron grabbing his cigarette and jacket," Tomczak Law Group argued in its motion. "An hour later, the defendant returned to the bar, entered and fired shots, leading to the bartender's death and another patron's injury during a struggle over the firearm. Patrons of the bar continued to punch, kick and choke the defendant until police arrived, rendering him barely conscious and may have resulted in the defendant's inability to recall the events."

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Danny Rios Murder: Jury Verdict Reached After Prosecutor Finishes Closing Argument

Joliet Bartender's Murder: Patrick Gleason Finally Has Jury Trial In Danny Rios' Slaying