This undated photo provided by the Champaign County Sheriff's Department shows Robbie M. Patton. Patton, has been convicted in a fatal shooting during a 2016 party near the University of Illinois campus, in Champaign Ill. A jury found Patton guilty Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, of first-degree murder in the killing of 22-year-old George Korchev. Sentencing is Nov. 8. (Champaign County Sheriff's Department via AP)
Republished September 29, 2017 - 7:47 AM
Original Publication Date September 29, 2017 - 5:06 AM
URBANA, Ill. - A young man has been convicted in a fatal shooting during a 2016 party near the University of Illinois campus.
A Champaign County jury found 19-year-old Robbie Patton of Champaign guilty Thursday of first-degree murder in the killing of 22-year-old George Korchev of Mundelein. He also was convicted of three counts of aggravated battery with a firearm.
Assistant Public Defender Tony Allegretti says investigators ignored leads that could have implicated someone else.
Sentencing is Nov. 8. Patton faces 45-85 years in prison on the murder charge and up to 30 years on the others.
Police say the shooting followed a disagreement over a spilled drink at a party in Champaign that led to a fight. None of the four victims were involved in the fight.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017