State won't seek death penalty in armed robbery, murder case

At a hearing Friday, Alexander County State's Attorney Jeffery Farris filed a petition of notice not to seek the death penalty in the case of a suspect charged with aggravated assault with a firearm, armed robbery and first-degree murder.

Michael Fencil, 25, of Mounds, Ill., is accused of robbing the Brown Bag Video II store in McClure, Ill., last summer.

During the robbery, Charles A. Caldwell, a customer at the store, was shot and killed and a clerk was injured.

Police suspected Fencil, a former employee at Brown Bag, because the phone lines in the store had been cut, and the person who committed the crime was someone familiar with when the cash would be in the register, said Diane Weber, store manager.

He allegedly fled the scene, but police put an alert out for him, including a description of his car right down to the bumper stickers he had on the back of the vehicle. They knew he had relatives in Ottawa, Ill., and suspected he would head in that direction.

Officers from the Ottawa Police Department spotted Fencil the day after the July 31 robbery and initiated a traffic stop, during which they apprehended him.

Shane Aden, Fencil's attorney, filed a request for a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether Fencil is mentally competent to stand trial.

Because the psychiatric evaluation was taking some time to complete, Fencil had waived his right to a speedy trial because it was in his best interest to wait for the report to be finished, Aden said in a previous interview.

The next hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Feb. 15 in the Alexander County Courthouse in Cairo, Ill.