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Politics & Government

A Week Before Trial, Judge Rejects Deal in 1999 Murder

Attorneys will try again Tuesday to work out plea in Raymond Winters case.

The judge overseeing Raymond Winters' murder case rejected a proposed plea deal to end the matter a week before its second trial.

On Monday, Circuit Judge George Bakalis listened to the agreement's specifics in his chambers during a brief conference with prosecutors and Winters' attorney. When he returned to the bench, Bakalis announced he "would not accept the agreement at proffered."

Assistant State's Attorney Bernard Murray would not speak to the terms of the proposed deal, but said both sides were working to find an agreement "amenable" to Bakalis. A hearing is set for Tuesday to again try to finalize a plea, while Winters is scheduled for trial on Aug. 2.

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Winters is accused in the 1999 killing of Aldis Tucker during a drug-related robbery outside a Wheaton apartment complex. His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Jamie Escuder, has repeatedly suggested Winters was merely present at the time of the shooting. Winters' first trial ended in a mistrial in December.

Prosecutors, in an effort to rebuff that defense during a second trial, convinced Bakalis to allow testimony that links Winters to at least one uncharged murder in Cook County - although they initially brought forward several murder they said Winters participated in, based on witness accounts.

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Over Escuder's objections, Bakalis agreed to let prosecutors introduce details of Darryl Green's 1999 killing for the "limited purpose" of showing Winters knew what was happening.

Prosecutors have said Green's death and Tucker's murder about a month later bear resemblance in how they were carried out, similarities which would open the door for prosecutors to attack the notion Winters was unaware of the plan for Tucker.

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