A Meredosia man has put himself on a path to rescind a previously decided guilty plea.
22 year old Braylen Rodriguez is charged with aggravated discharge of firearm into an occupied vehicle. Three other charges that were originally dismissed as part of the plea deal were for burglary, possession of a stolen firearm, and possession of a controlled substance.
Morgan County State’s Attorney Gray Noll details the course of previous hearings.
“On September 18th, 2018, the defendant pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 8 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, along with a variety of other conditions. Along with that plea, the judge recommended to the DOC that the defendant be placed in the ‘Impact Incarceration Program’. But that’s all it is – a recommendation. The DOC certainly isn’t ordered to place him in the program. After going into DOC custody, Rodriguez petitioned to be placed in the ‘Impact Incarceration Program’, which would allow him to serve less than the 8 years that was ordered.”
State’s Attorney Noll explains what happened in court yesterday.
“The DOC denied the petition, and the defendant has since filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. That motion has not been formally heard by the judge, so there has been no ruling. The motion basically says that, because the defendant did not get into the ‘Impact Incarceration Program’, he should be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea. He appeared in court Tuesday with public defender Tom Piper and asked to have the motion hearing continued. The judge will then formally hear the defendant’s request to withdraw his guilty plea.”
Rodriguez will next appear in court for a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, for which he had been sentenced to 8 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. The motion hearing will take place on April 23rd at 2:30 pm