Man Gets 25 Years For West Suburban Murder
ST. CHARLES, Ill. (STMW) -- Arthur Manning spoke softly Wednesday as he, once again, placed the blame for Naromi Mannery's death on Mannery himself.
Manning couched his finger-pointing with shades of remorse, saying he could have handled things better during a 2008 fight outside a west suburban St. Charles home where he and other Windy City Carnival workers lived. As had previously come up during two trials that ended with Manning convicted of Mannery's murder, Manning suggested all Mannery had to do was leave and he would still be alive today.
"I didn't go to his house looking for trouble. He came to my house. I wasn't looking for trouble, he was," Manning said during his second sentencing hearing for killing Mannery. "I'm sorry about what happened with me and Mr. Mannery. ... I remember stabbing him twice.
"I'm sorry he lost his life," Manning said.
Kane County Judge Susan Clancy Boles sentenced Manning to 25 years years in prison this time around. He has been in custody since September 2008, which means he would be required to spend approximately 19 years in prison. Manning's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Michael Tatman, sought the minimum for murder, 20 years, which he said "could very likely be a life sentence" for the 63-year-old Manning, who suffers from multiple ailments.
Tatman reiterated his contentions from Manning's second trial that his client acted in self defense when Mannery started a fight after being asked to leave the West State Street home. Jurors needed less than two hours to convict Manning during the trial held in December.
Wednesday marked the second time Manning has been sentenced for Mannery's murder. His previous 29-year prison term was vacated, along with his conviction, after the Second District Appellate Court ruled in 2011 that now-retired Judge Timothy Sheldon did not give proper instructions to jurors in Manning's first trial.
Jurors in the second trial were given instructions on how to consider self defense and second-degree murder as part of their deliberations.
Assistant State's Attorney Greg Sams asked Boles to again give Manning a 29-year sentence. While state law does not allow for a defendant to be resentenced to a greater term than their original sentence, Sams noted Boles could consider going beyond 29 years because of Manning's conviction in an unrelated federal case.
A year before the murder in St. Charles, Manning was charged in U.S. District court as part of a bank fraud scheme were he and other men used fake names to open bank accounts. Manning and the others would transfer money from their victims' accounts into the fraudulent accounts before withdrawing the money.
Federal prosecutors alleged the group took nearly $97,000 as part of the scheme, with Manning personally making two $5,000 withdrawals from a Memphis bank.
Manning was free on bond in the federal case at the time of his arrest in the Mannery death. He eventually pleaded guilty in the fraud case and received a two-year prison sentence.
Earlier in Wednesday's hearing, Boles denied Manning's motion for a new trial. Guy Manning, Arthur Manning's brother, and Willie Wimberly each received an eight-year sentence for aggravated battery in connection to the murder.
A fourth man was charged with obstruction of justice after police learned he tried to wash Mannery's blood off the sidewalk in front of the Windy City home.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)