State's Attorney Says Death Penalty A Useful Tool in Some Cases

Michael Alfonso doesn’t seem like a man who would be afraid of much, but Eric Weis said Alfonso was afraid of the death penalty.

Alfonso shot and killed his pregnant girlfriend Sumanear Yang in the parking lot outside his Wheaton apartment complex in 1992. Her body was found in Silver Springs State Park near Yorkville, but the case went cold for years until Alfonso was charged with the 2001 murder of another former girlfriend, Genoveva Franco Velaquez. Valaquez was shot in the head in June 2001 in a parking lot outside the restaurant where she worked.

Alfonso, now 41, was willing to plead guilty to both crimes about three years ago and serve life in prison without parole so prosecutors wouldn’t seek the death penalty against him, Weis said.

“He was afraid in the death penalty, and he said that in open court,” Weis said.

Prosecutors from Kendall and DuPage counties crafted a negotiated plea in which Alfonso confessed to both murders and gave a videotaped account of the 1992 slaying for the benefit of Yang’s family.

But fear of the death penalty won’t be something prosecutors can use against criminals if Gov. Pat Quinn signs legislation repealing the death penalty. Prosecutors have been able to seek the death penalty, although no executions have taken place since former Gov. George Ryan issued a moratorium in 2000 in light of several death row inmates being cleared.

Weis said he was disappointed state legislators passed the bill, especially since state senators passed it Tuesday just before newly elected officials were seated.

“But if it’s not there, we’re still going to do our jobs,” Weis said.

Weis said he supports the death penalty in extreme murder cases, including that of a 23-year-old man accused of dousing his cousin with gasoline and setting a Montgomery house on fire, killing two people and injuring two others.

A judge has yet to determine if Theddias LeSure is mentally competent to stand trial on charges of murder, attempted murder, aggravated arson and residential arson.

But, in court documents, Weis said LeSure told authorities he molested family members in three states and believed his family was going to report him to police after the latest incident, which did not occur in Kendall County.

On June 13, 2009, LeSure armed himself with a knife, poured gasoline in a bucket, and doused his cousin Maurice Vaughn, court documents say LeSure told police. Vaughn had been sleeping in the 2400 block of Riva Ridge Road but woke up and spoke to LeSure briefly. LeSure twice struck matches and tossed the second one on his cousin, court documents say.

LeSure left the burning house, prepared to kill anyone who tried to escape, but too many people had gathered by the time two relatives jumped from a second-story window, according to court documents. One man was paralyzed after he broke his back in the fall, and another suffered a compound leg fracture, Weis said in court documents.

Vaughn was charred beyond recognition and Matthew LeSure died of injuries suffered in the fire, Weis said.

Weis filed notice that he intended to seek the death penalty in this case in October 2009 and brought in prosecutors from the appellate prosecutor's office to help with the case, since they are more experienced with death-penalty cases.

If the death penalty is repealed, it would have more affect on defense attorneys than prosecutors in this case, Weis said.

The maximum penalty LeSure could face would be life in prison without parole, but Weis was unsure what would happen with the special funds set aside for defendants in death-penalty cases or with the certified attorneys appointed to represent those charged with capital offenses.

“Everyone’s in a wait-and-see mode,” Weis said.

The next court date for LeSure’s case is scheduled in on Jan. 26.