Man sentenced to 70 years for 2007 murder of ice cream vendor

Rafael Santos

Online Staff Report

Rafael Santos, 23, has been sentenced to 70 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the offense of first-degree murder in the July 15, 2007, murder of ice cream vendor Isidro Duran.

Duran was selling ice cream from a push cart near 716 Loomis in a Rockford residential neighborhood when he was approached by Santos and his two co-defendants. The three males robbed Duran at gunpoint. As Duran fled on foot, the defendant opened fire and shot Duran in the back, buttocks and legs. Duran died as a result of the gunshot wounds he sustained during the armed robbery.

First-degree murder is a class M felony with a sentencing range of 45 years to natural life because the defendant personally discharged a firearm that proximately caused death during the commission of the crime. The sentence is to be served at 100 percent.

Posted July 11, 2012