In the Courts: Former Algonquin Man Guilty in Grisly 2014 Murder of Bartlett Man
The following is a roundup of Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office news releases from Friday, March 3, through Thursday, March 9, 2017.
DENVER MAN GUILTY IN 2014 MURDER OF BARTLETT MAN
A Denver, CO, man has been found guilty of murdering a Bartlett man in West Dundee more than two years ago to avoid paying a drug debt.
Gary M. Bennett, 38, of Denver, and formerly of Millbrook Court, Algonquin, was convicted Tuesday, March 7, 2017, by a Kane County jury of first-degree murder and concealing a homicidal death in the Aug. 10, 2014, shooting of 36-year-old Keith K. Crawford of Bartlett. In addition the jury found that Bennett personally fired the gun that killed Crawford.
Gary Bennett (CREDIT: Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office)
The jurors deliberated for about 21⁄2 hours before they reached the verdict.
Kane County prosecutors presented evidence that Crawford frequently supplied cocaine to Bennett, and Bennett owed Crawford money for the drugs.
The night of Aug. 10, 2014, Bennett and his friend, co-defendant Joan Sebastian Vado-Bonilla, 29, of West Dundee, drove to a party in unincorporated Dundee Township, where Bennett convinced Crawford to drive with them to a location near Valley View to get money to partially repay Crawford and to buy more cocaine.
Crawford sat in the front passenger seat and Bennett sat behind Crawford, with Vado-Bonilla driving. As the car traveled south on Route 31 in West Dundee, Bennett drew a handgun and shot Crawford in the back of the head, killing him. Bennett and Vado-Bonilla discarded Crawford’s body in a large garbage bin at an apartment complex on Todd Farm Road in Elgin. Crawford’s body was never found.
The case was unsolved for nearly a year until Vado-Bonilla came forward and agreed to cooperate with investigators.
Vado-Bonilla pleaded guilty Dec. 11, 2015, to concealment of a homicidal death, a Class 3 felony. He awaits sentencing.
Bennett remains in the Kane County jail, where he had been held since his extradition from Colorado in lieu of $5 million bail. Bond was revoked upon conviction.
“I’m thankful for the commitment that the members of the jury made to listen to and consider all of the evidence presented over the last two weeks. This defendant exemplified greed and evil, and is looking at a long prison sentence as a result,” Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said.
“This investigation required an intense amount of work by local, state and federal, agencies. We would like to commend the West Dundee Police Department, the Kane County Major Crimes Task Force, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bartlett Police Department and the Denver Police for their hard work in this investigation.”
The case was prosecuted by Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon, and Kane County Assistant State’s Attorneys Joseph Cullen and Vincent Coyle.
SOURCE: Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office news release. To follow news releases directly from the SAO, visit the State’s Attorney’s website and Facebook page.
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