Highland Park fatal beating: 2 men sentenced to more than a decade in prison
HIGHLAND PARK - Two Highland Park men will each spend more than a decade in prison for the fatal beating of a 45-year-old man.
Fatal beating in Highland Park
The backstory:
Nicholas Caban, 24, was sentenced Tuesday to 18 years in prison, while Jacob Firestone, 22, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the fatal beating of Matthew Ascaridis, 45, of Highland Park, according to the Lake County State's Attorney's Office.
(From left) Pictured is Nicholas Caban and Jacob Firestone. (Lake County State's Attorney's Office )
During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors presented evidence in aggravation, including testimony from a Lake County sergeant who said he witnessed Caban make an obscene gesture toward the courtroom audience after his verdict was read in April.
The sergeant testified that after the judge left the courtroom, Caban turned toward the audience and raised his middle finger as officers escorted him from the courtroom, prosecutors said.
The court also heard five victim-impact statements from Ascaridis' mother, brother, wife and two children.
Ascaridis was described as a "loving and devoted" father, husband, son, uncle, cousin and friend, according to the state's attorney's office.
"They talked about his contagious laugh and the love he showed to those around him. Matthew's children spoke about the milestones they will never get to share with their father and said Caban and Firestone took away the future they thought they'd have with their father," the state's attorney's office said in a statement.
Evidence presented at trial showed Caban and Firestone fled after the beating rather than seeking help for Ascaridis, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors also pointed to Caban's behavior after the verdict, arguing that his gesture toward the courtroom audience further showed a lack of remorse. They asked the judge to sentence both defendants at or near the maximum sentence of 20 years.
The judge also emphasized the defendants' behavior, saying they appeared to feel bad about their actions but did not show remorse.
What they're saying:
"Our office continues to think of the family and offer our condolences. We will always support them. The evidence showed that these two offenders engaged in a sustained and relentless attack on the victim. The offenders inflicted dozens of injuries that caused the victim’s death and had nothing to do with self-defense. The judge’s sentences appropriately reflect the egregious nature of the violence they unleashed," said Lake County State's Attorney Eric Reinhart.
The Source: The information in this article was provided by the Lake County State's Attorney's Office.