Attorneys for a former Jacksonville real estate agent convicted of murdering his ex-father-in-law have filed a motion to reconsider his sentence.
Fifty-one-year-old Robert Heitbrink was sentenced to 27 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on December 15th for stabbing 70-year-old William McElhaney to death in July 2013 in the garage of Heitbrink’s west-side Jacksonville home.
Heitbrink was ordered to home confinement after posting bail, where he had been up until he was convicted. Heitbrink’s attorney James Elmore argued he should be given credit for the two-plus years he spent in home confinement, but that was not factored into the sentence given by Circuit Judge Chris Reif.
Heitbrink was given credit for the nearly two months he spent in Morgan County Jail following the conviction.
According to court records, Heitbrink’s appeal of his sentence is being withdrawn at this time pending the outcome of his motion to reconsider.
The motion was filed last Wednesday in Morgan County Court by Elmore.
A hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday at 11 a.m.