A man convicted of murdering his wife in 2002 will evade a new felony charge levied against him for allegedly beating another woman, all because of a technicality.
On Jan. 31, Charles Gozzola, 40, "struck a victim in the head with a water bottle and pulled her into a vehicle against her will" in the parking lot of Planet Fitness in Crystal Lake., according to law enforcement. Police eventually stormed into his home and arrested Gozzola.
Gozzola was formally indicted by a grand jury in February on charges of aggravated battery in a public place, a Class 3 felony, and domestic battery with physical contact, a Class 4 felony, according to Shaw Local News.
Now, a judge has dropped one of the felony charges against Charles Gozzola, citing that he is technically not an alleged repeat offender and saying prosecutors "misinformed" the grand jury.
The Class 4 felony was predicated on the assumption that the defendant had a prior conviction of the same offense; however, his attorney Clay Mitchell argued that though Gozzola had spent time in prison for the second-degree murder of his wife, this was not the same thing.
Mitchell further alleges that the grand jury was "misled" and not "properly advised" on the law.
To classify the domestic battery change as a Class 4 felony, Gozzola would have had to have been convicted of a prior domestic battery or first-degree murder but was only convicted of second-degree murder.
In 2002, Gozzola was convicted of killing his wife during an arguement which prosecutors stated was over stolen cocaine. Gozzola was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but was eventually released early.
Assistant State Prosecutor Ashur Youash argued that the state "did not come near misleading the grand jury" about Gozzola's criminal record.
He countered that although Gozzola was not officially convicted of domestic battery in connection with the murder of his wife, it was nonetheless a violent act where Gozzola killed her in the "commission" of domestic battery.
The couple was in a heated argument over whether the wife stole his cocaine.
Judge Mark Gerhardt repeatedly asked the assistant prosecutor if Gozzola was "convicted of domestic battery" in his wife's death, which he was not.
The judge said the state "doubled down," knowing they misled the grand jury to obtain the Class 4 felony.
"Technically, he was not convicted of domestic battery," Mitchell exclaimed, before ultimately ruling in the defense's favor.
"What happened now is that he stands here facing three years in prison," or up to six years if extended term eligible, "rather than 365 days in jail," the judge said.
"That's a miscarriage of justice."
He then dismissed the Class 4 felony.
