Alleged Mastermind Of Grisly Joliet Murders Gets Life Sentence
CHICAGO (STMW) -- Joshua Miner was not surprised by his murder conviction, his attorney said at the time.
Miner shouldn't be surprised by his sentence, either.
Miner, 26, was convicted last month of the murders of 22-year-olds Eric Glover and Terrance Rankins in January 2013.
Miner faced mandatory life sentence under Illinois law and on Wednesday that is what he received.
In passing sentence, Judge Gerald Kinney reminded Miner: "There was a time when you'd be facing the death penalty."
"It is really difficult to comprehend the senseless nature of this crime," the judge said.
At his trial in September, police said they found Miner smoking a cigarette on a couch near the men's bodies at 1121 N. Hickory on Jan. 10, 2013. He allegedly confessed at the time to killing one of the victims.
Three others, including 20-year-old Alisa Massaro, also were arrested and charged with murder. Massaro would later plead guilty to robbery and concealing a homicide. She also agreed to testify against her co-defendants in exchange for a 10-year prison term, leaving her eligible for release in 2018.
But prosecutors didn't call her to the stand before resting their case against Miner. Closing arguments in his bench trial were delivered Sept. 30; Judge Kinney announced his verdict Oct. 8.
Miner could have avoided a life sentence if convicted of murdering only one of the men. That's why his attorneys had tried to argue that Miner was not responsible for both deaths.
Once that strategy failed, in the view of the judge, Miner's fate was all but sealed. Under state law, a life sentence is mandatory.
Massaro was Miner's girlfriend at the time of the killings and lived in the home where police say Glover and Rankins were killed. After their deaths, officers arrested Miner, Massaro, 20-year-old Bethany McKee and 21-year-old Adam Landerman and charged all four with murder under the legal theory of accountability.
McKee was convicted in August and, last week, also was sentenced to life in prison.
Landerman, who has yet to stand trial, also is accused of strangling the men after the group allegedly plotted to rob Rankins.
Massaro kept her promise to testify at McKee's trial, providing key testimony that helped prosecutors convict McKee of murder.
Massaro, meanwhile, will be eligible for release from prison in less than four years.
It's not clear why prosecutors chose not to call Massaro to testify against Miner. He admitted to killing one of the victims in a videotaped statement played in court last week.
But McKee's attorney, Chuck Bretz, also brought Massaro to tears when he grilled her relentlessly on the witness stand last month.
Bretz accused Massaro of lying to police "more times than I can count" after the bodies of Rankins and Glover were found in her home.
He also pointed to jailhouse letters Massaro wrote to her family. In them, she wrote she'd rather live under a bridge than be in jail. She wrote she's "willing to do anything" just to see her parents again. And finally, she wrote she's "not dumb enough to be in jail for the rest of my life."
Massaro said she only lied to police because she was scared and "didn't want to remember" what happened. She also said she would have told the truth even if she hadn't been offered a plea deal because she had a revelation after her arrest.
"I realized how important the truth is," Massaro said. "It sets you free."
Later, when the judge convicted McKee, he said Massaro's testimony had to be taken with suspicion "in light of the fact that she is a former co-defendant."
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
