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The state’s Third District Appellate Court has affirmed the 50-year sentence of Juan Calderon for the 2018 murder of 26-year-old Alexander Nicolas of West Chicago.
In his appeal of the first-degree murder conviction, 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 in imposing a 50-year-sentence, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.
About 7:34 a.m. on Nov. 9, 2018, West Chicago police responded to a 911 call of a man found lying on the ground in the 600 block of East Forest Avenue. Police found Nicolas lying face up with blood coming from the back of his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the release.
Authorities later learned that at about 11:19 p.m. the previous night, Nicolas was near his car on East Forest Avenue when he was approached by Calderon and another man, Emelio Guillen. The two men physically attacked and ultimately shot Nicolas in the head with Guillen giving the order to shoot Nicolas and Calderon shooting Nicolas in the head. After killing Nicolas, the men got into Guillen’s car and fled, authorities said.
In September 2022, following a three-day trial, a jury found Calderon guilty of first-degree murder. On Feb. 3, 2023, Calderon was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
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.
“I thank the Appellate Court for its thorough analysis of this case and its finding that Mr. Calderon received a fair trial,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “The Appellate Court’s decision ensures that Mr. Calderon will not receive a new trial and his conviction and 50-year sentence for first degree murder will stand.”