An Elgin man will go to prison for his role in the 2017 stabbing murder of 36-year-old Bayron Cruz-Garcia of Elgin.

Gabriel M. Lopez

According to a Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office news release, 32-year-old Gabriel M. Lopez on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019, agreed to a sentence of 25 years’ imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections in exchange for a guilty plea to the offense of first-degree murder.

Kane County Circuit Judge Donald M. Tegeler accepted the plea.

On Aug. 11, 2017, co-defendant Carlos Lopez offered to pay Gabriel Lopez and co-defendant Michael Giacomino $300 to beat up Cruz-Garcia, whom Carlos Lopez said owed him money. Gabriel Lopez and Giacomino agreed.

A fourth person drove the three co-defendants to a business in the 1100 block of Jansen Farm Drive, Elgin, where they saw Cruz-Garcia enter an SUV. The men approached the SUV, and then Gabriel Lopez opened the SUV door and Carlos Lopez pulled the victim out of the vehicle.

The three men punched and kicked the victim several times, and continued to punch and kick him after he fell to the ground. Carlos Lopez then stabbed the victim numerous times with a steak knife. He died as a result of the injuries inflicted by the three defendants.

In accordance with Illinois law, Gabriel Lopez must serve the full sentence. Lopez receives credit for 738 days served in the Kane County jail, where he had been held since his arrest in lieu of $3 million bail.

The charges against Carlos Lopez and Michael Giacomino are pending. They are considered innocent and are entitled to a fair trial in which it is the state’s burden to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

SOURCE: Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office news release