Mounds, Ill., man to plead guilty to 2007 Brown Bag killing

The man accused of killing one and injuring another during a 2007 robbery in McClure, Ill., will enter a guilty plea Dec. 9, his attorney said Wednesday.

In a plea agreement reached less than a month ago, Michael Fencil of Mounds, Ill., will plead guilty to one count of murder and one count of aggravated battery with a firearm in exchange for the state dropping a 25-year penalty for crimes committed with a gun, said Fencil's attorney, Shane Aden.

Fencil faces a sentence between 26 and 90 years.

The agreement canceled a jury trial that had been scheduled to begin this week.

Fencil is a former bouncer at a nightclug that, along with the Brown Bag Video II store, is owned by Richard Thompson.

Brown Bag customer Charles A. Caldwell was shot and killed during the July 31, 2007, robbery. The shop's clerk was injured.

Fencil was later arrested in his hometown, Ottawa, Ill., where Thompson owns another Brown Bag Video store. Since his arrest, Fencil has been held in the Tri-County Justice and Detention Center in Ullin, Ill., Aden said.

Fencil, 25 at the time of the robbery, was charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, armed robbery and first-degree murder -- possible under Illinois law, which allows prosecutors to pose various scenarios for how they believe a crime took place, Aden said.

The charges allow for penalties of 20 to 60 years in prison for murder; six to 30 years for aggravated battery with a firearm; an additional 25 years for crimes committed with a gun; and the death penalty.

Under the plea agreement, the state will not seek the 25-year penalty. In February, Alexander County State's Attorney Jeffrey Ferris said he would not seek the death penalty.

Judge William Thurston will determine the sentence after a hearing at 9 a.m. Dec. 9.

Ferris was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

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