South Side man sentenced to 73 years in Elgin murder - Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

South Side man sentenced to 73 years in Elgin murder

A Chicago man was sentenced to 73 years in prison Tuesday for a 2008 murder outside a northwest suburban nightclub.

Associate Judge Patricia P. Golden sentenced 29-year-old Dion Spears of the 9700 block of South Princeton Avenue to 73 years for his May 10 conviction for first-degree murder, armed violence and unlawful possession of a controlled substance, according to Kane County prosecutors.

Spears was arguing with 29-year-old Derrick Bey about 2 am. on Feb. 3, 2008, outside a hall in the 800 block of North State Street in Elgin when he fired two shots from a Colt .32-caliber revolver. The bullets struck Bey in the chest and just below the waist, a release from the Kane County State's Attorney's office said.

Spears then tried to run across State Street and was struck by a passing car, prosecutors said. Police in the ambulance found a loaded Kel-Tec 9 mm Luger semiautomatic handgun and 9 grams of cocaine hidden in his mouth at the hospital.

Golden noted during sentencing that Spears has served three prior prison terms for drug-related offenses, and was on mandatory supervised release at the time of the murder.

The jury also found Spears personally fired the gun that killed Bey, causing a mandatory 25-year enhancement to the sentence, the release said. Spears must serve 100 percent of the 32-year murder sentence, and is eligible for day-for-day sentencing for the armed violence and controlled substance sentences.

He was given credit for 1,217 days served in Kane County Jail, where he has been held since his arrest.