"Mr. Hillegeist understands he's now going to pay his debt to society. I honestly believe that he will avail himself of every positive opportunity while in the Department of Corrections, as he has in county jail, and emerge as a man who can contribute to society in a positive way."

Today, at 4 p.m. William Hillegeist was sentenced by Judge John Feeney in Courtroom 1. He was represented by Mr. Ben McLaughlin.

This is from Mr. McLaughlin regarding the plea deal reached:

"Mr. Hillegeist was sentenced to 5 years for attempted murder in one matter, and 1 year for heroin sales in another.   The terms were each doubled, due to Mr. Hillegeist's 10-year-old "strike" prior, and will run consecutive to one another.  All other counts, special allegations, and criminal cases were dismissed.  He will serve 12 years, with a 15% credit limitation."

"While I believe the attempted murder count was defensible, Mr. Hillegeist nonetheless faced 38-years if convicted of Robbery.  I am happy he will have a life to live after he serves his sentence."

"I've represented and prosecuted a number of defendants in 13 years in criminal law, and think I am a pretty good judge of sincerity.  I've known Mr. Hillegeist for over a year-and-a-half, and I truly believe he is remorseful and embarrassed by his actions."

"I am thankful that the Deputy District Attorney, the court, and the Probation Department also recognized this."

"Mr. Hillegeist understands he's now going to pay his debt to society.  I honestly believe that he will avail himself of every positive opportunity while in the Department of Corrections, as he has in county jail, and emerge as a man who can contribute to society in a positive way."

"Mr. Hillegeist expressed to me his desire to get a college degree and become an addiction counselor. I do not think I'll ever again know Mr. Hillegeist in my capacity as a defense attorney."

Sep 10, 2015

From possible 50 to life to serving 12 years at 85%

I had not been following the William Hillegeist case since April, there have been a lot of disposition and reset hearings. Since I first saw him in court, I saw a change in Hillegeist's demeanor in court over the course of time.

As you can tell from the blog, lot of cases, multiple cases on at the same time on the same day. Yesterday there was a disposition and reset hearing in Courtroom 1.

Hillegeist was looking " at well north of 50-life," his attorney Mr. Ben McLaughlin told me.The matter resolved and now he will serve "12 years, @85%." 

Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees is the prosecutor on the case that resolved.

Last post (with other links):

http://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2015/04/possible-resoultion-in-william.html