Woman Gets 22 Years In Shopkeeper's Slaying
CHICAGO (STMW) - A gang member's girlfriend was sentenced to 22 years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to her role in the robbery and murder of a West Side store owner last year.
Beatrice Rosado, 26, was sentenced by Judge Vincent Gaughan after pleading guilty to murder, Cook County State's Attorney's office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton said. She must serve the entire 22-year term.
Rosado's boyfriend, 27-year-old Elvin Payton, was sentenced to 47 years in prison in November 2009 after admitting he robbed and killed store owner Michael Norton on May 14, 2009, because he thought he would be an "easy target."
Prosecutors said Payton pushed the 55-year-old to the ground, took his keys, tying him up and repeatedly demanding, "Where's the money?"
Kerry Masterson, another woman charged in the murder, then pulled the trigger, shooting Norton in the back of the head, police said.
Masterson and Payton then left with two bags in van driven by Rosado, prosecutors said.
Norton, of unincorporated Glen Ellyn, was the longtime owner of Norton's Sweet Shop, a convenience store at Cicero and North Avenues. He was found in the back of his store with a bullet wound to the back of the head. His hands and feet were bound, police said.
A few weeks before the murder, Norton evicted Payton and Rosado from an apartment above the store. A witness saw Rosado in a van near the shop at the time of the murder and a video surveillance tape also put the van at the scene.
Detectives arrested Rosado and Payton, who said he thought Norton would be an easy target. They later learned that Masterson allegedly participated in the holdup.
Masterson is scheduled for a status hearing Jan. 13.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
