A 23-year-old Harvey man was sentenced Monday to 50 years in prison for fatally shooting a 22-year-old Hazel Crest man in July 1995 for stepping on his shoe.
Elton Pace was convicted Sept. 8 in a one-day bench trial before Associate Judge Paul J. Nealis of two counts of first-degree murder in the death of James Cole, 22, of the 2800 block of Greenwood Road in Hazel Crest.
Calling the evidence in the case overwhelming, Nealis said there was no provocation for Pace’s actions.
“He just executed the person who stepped on his shoe,” Nealis said.
Pace faced a possible sentence of 20 to 60 years in prison. However, because the shooting occurred less than a month before truth-in-sentencing guidelines took effect in Illinois, he could be eligible for parole in fewer than 25 years.
In victim-impact statements read by Nealis in court Monday, family members told of the emotional trauma they have endured after Cole’s killing and their anger at Pace’s apparent lack of remorse.
“He shook his hand like he was (accepting his apology) and shot him with the other,” wrote Cole’s mother, Tamara. “This cold-blooded coward should die.”
On July 19, 1995, Cole and Pace were among a group of young men talking in the 15500 block of Marshfield Avenue in Harvey when Cole accidentally tripped over Pace’s foot, said Assistant State’s Atty. Jeff Hickstein, who prosecuted the case with Patrick Smith.
