December 29th, 2010 | By admin
A Chicago-area man who shot and killed a neighbor whose dog urinated on his lawn, was sentenced to just four years of probation on Wednesday, shocking the victim’s family.
Will County Judge Daniel Rozak rejected prison time for Charles Clements, 69, of University Park, noting the Marine vet had no prior criminal history.
Clements faced up to 20 years behind bars after being convicted of the second-degree murder in May of Joshua Funches, 23.
“This is certainly not justice,” Gail Williams, the slain man’s aunt, told the Chicago Tribune.
Prosecutors argued that Clements killed Funches during a dispute that started when the younger man’s fox terrier urinated on Clements’ yard.
Testimony at the trial showed that after Funches cursed at him, Clements pulled out a .45-caliber handgun and then placed it back in his pocket.
According to the filing, Funches then yelled, “Old man if you pull a gun on me you better plan on using it,” then punched Clements in the face.
Clements said he blindly fired his gun as he fell backward. He apologized for his actions during the sentencing hearing.
Jurors convicted Clements of second-degree murder in October. They decided that Clements believed he was acting in self-defense — a view they did not agree with.
Judge Rozak said the case wasn’t just about a dog urinating on a lawn but about a man reacting to “being yelled at, pushed and punched in the face by a 23-year-old man.”
Clements’ attorney, Daniel Collins, said his client and his family are “very satisfied” with the sentence.
“They’re very thankful to the judge,” he said.
