A convicted murderer who is appealing his case got six months added to his 50-year prison sentence Thursday after he cursed at a judge in open court.
Rudy Villareal, 21, was sentenced in March to a 50-year term by Circuit Judge Janice Bierman after the October 1993 fatal shooting of Antonlino Perez Jr., 23, outside an Elgin bar.
Villareal appeared on July 21 before Bierman in a court proceeding to determine whether Villareal was indigent enough to receive free copies of courtroom transcripts, said James Andreou, Assistant Cook County state’s attorney.
The costs of transcripts can run in the thousands of dollars.
According to court records, Villareal quite audibly used profanity directed at the judge, and she held him in contempt of court.
“You offended the dignity and sensitivity of this courtroom,” Bierman said Thursday. “I can’t let people make outbursts like that. At the end of your 50 years, you’ll serve an extra six months.”
Bierman then granted Villareal the free transcript.
In the July 21 hearing, the question of Villareal’s indigency was scrutinized because he had hired the services of a private attorney.
