People v. Castillo

              First Division
March 19, 2007
No. 1-05-0822
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
ROMEO CASTILLO,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from
the Circuit Court
of Cook County
04 CR 6540
Honorable
Thomas Davy,
Judge Presiding
PRESIDING JUSTICE McBRIDE delivered the opinion of the court:
On February 14, 2004, defendant, Romeo Castillo, was charged with domestic battery and
aggravated battery of a police officer. The State nol-prossed the charged on March 9, 2004.
Defendant was transferred to the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) for a parole
violation. On March 31, 2004, the State refiled the aggravated battery charge against defendant.
On August 11, 2004, the date defendant was released from the IDOC, defendant was served with
an arrest warrant for the aggravated battery charge and taken into custody. A bench trial was
held on December 1, 2004, and following the trial, defendant was found guilty of the aggravated
battery. At sentencing, the trial court initially sentenced defendant as a Class X offender to a
term of 10 years’ imprisonment. However, the trial court later vacated defendant’s sentence of
10 years and imposed a sentence of 8 years in the IDOC.
Defendant appeals, arguing that: (1) defendant’s right to a speedy trial was violated; (2)
the State failed to prove defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; (3) the trial court abused its
discretion in sentencing defendant to eight years’ imprisonment; and (4) defendant is entitled to