Man sentenced to 25 years for 2009 beating, vehicle hijacking of 83-year-old man

Kenneth Payne

Online Staff Report

Kenneth Payne, 28, was sentenced July 27 to a total of 25 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections by Judge Gary Pumilia.

Payne was found guilty of one count of aggravated battery and one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking after a jury trial April 6.

Oct. 19, 2009, officers responded to McDonald’s on Auburn Street in reference to a vehicular hijacking. Police spoke with the victim, who indicated he went to McDonald’s, where two males beat him up and stole his car in the parking lot.

The victim was pulled out of his car and struck in the face, causing his eye to shut in addition to a brain bleed. Both suspects got in the car and left the area with the victim’s car. Surveillance tapes of the interior of McDonald’s reflect the male following the victim.

Oct. 22, 2009, Madison, Wis., police recovered the vehicle with an adult female and two other juvenile females inside. The adult female was interviewed and stated the defendant, Payne, arrived at her house and delivered the car to her house. The adult female looked at the McDonald’s surveillance tape and positively identified the defendant in the video.

The defendant was also interviewed. He admitted to being at McDonald’s, but denied hitting the victim. The victim was 83 years of age at the time of the attack.

Aggravated battery is a class 3 felony with a sentencing range of two to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections to be followed by one year mandatory supervised release as a result of the defendant’s prior criminal history.

Aggravated vehicular hijacking is a class X felony with a sentencing range of six to 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. The defendant was sentenced to 20 years on one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking and five years on one count of aggravated battery to be served concurrently.

Posted July 30, 2012