Kankakee murder brings 59-year prison term

It was a botched robbery attempt in Kankakee five years ago. Thursday, a 19-year-old man was sentenced to a 59-year prison term for killing an unarmed man.

Michael Wilson was ordered to the prison time by Kankakee County Circuit Court Judge Kathy Bradshaw-Elliott. The judge called Wilson a "dangerous man."

Wilson was just 14 when he and co-defendant Byron Moore, lured 23-year-old Ryan Graefnitz, into an apartment building for what police called a promise for crack cocaine.

The Daily-Journal reports a jury found Wilson guilty of the murder but was unconvinced he was the triggerman. Under Illinois law, co-defendants can both be found responsible of the same crime.

Defendant Byron Moore, who was 17 at the time and facing similar charges, agreed to a 29-year sentence in exchange for testimony against Wilson. He told a jury that Wilson pulled the trigger of the weapon that killed Graefnitz.

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