A 60-year-old man Illinois was sentenced to 60 years in prison for the February 21 murder of his girlfriend in Pontoon Beach.
Richard D. Mayor was sentenced after a short hearing Tuesday morning before Circuit Judge Kyle Napp.
On June 1 Mayor had been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Lisa Dunnavant-Polach, who he ran over with his pickup truck in Pontoon Beach. Mayor struck Dunnavant-Polach with his vehicle on Illinois 111 in Pontoon Beach on Feb. 21.
According to Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine, Mayor’s sentencing sends a message to those who would commit violent acts.
“Violence in our communities will not be tolerated and it will face swift and strong justice in Madison County,” Haine said after the sentencing hearing.
At the time of the murder, Dunnavant-Polach was walking along Illinois 111 and trying to evade Mayor, who was driving a pickup. According to court testimony, she was struck by Mayor’s pickup as she was trying to get into the cab of a semi whose driver had stopped to see if she needed assistance.
The driver of the semi, a former Marine, testified that he pulled the microphone wire off his CB radio and used it to tie a tourniquet on the victim’s severed leg. Despite her injuries, Dunnavant-Polach was able to tell the semi driver that the pickup was driven by her boyfriend.
Mayor fled while police and others rendered first aid. She was taken to a St. Louis area hospital and later died from her injuries.
Mayor’s vehicle, which had become disabled, was located a short time later on Illinois 203 in Granite City. A Madison County deputy located Mayor, who was taken into custody without incident.
Haine praised the truck driver saying his actions, especially getting information about the suspect, were very important.
“That was a key part of the trial, because that allowed us to quickly identify Richard Mayor,” Haine said.
“You never know who’s going to be put in that (Good Samaritan) situation,” he said. “In this case they stood up and did whatever they could.”
Mayor’s sentencing was originally set for 9:30 a.m. at the Madison County Criminal Justice Center, but was mostly completed by that time.
Earlier Mayor had said he did not want to appear at the hearing and would fight efforts to remove him from the jail. But because Mayor was acting as his own attorney, Napp ordered him brought over.
Assistant Madison County State’s Attorney Luke Yager, who prosecuted the case with assistance from Assistant State’s Attorney Morgan Hudson, noted that neither Mayor nor the deputies with him showed evidence of injuries. However, as Mayor was being brought to court he told deputies he was going to ask for a lawyer for the sentencing, which was his right.
That message was conveyed to Napp, who during the hearing said she expected Mayor to ask for an attorney, which would have resulted in a continuance and a delay of at least 90 days in the sentencing.
However, during the hearing Mayor said “Let’s just get it done.”
When Napp again asked if Mayor wanted a lawyer he said no.
“I don’t want to sit here and be disrespected,” he said, referring to potential statements from the victim’s family. “I don’t need a public defender; let’s get this over with.”
Yager told the court that Mayor stalked Dunnavant-Polach for 30 minutes before killing her, noting that he acted when she had a chance to escape. Yager called Mayor “an extreme danger to society” and asked he be sentenced to 95 years in prison.
Mayor declined to make a statement.
After noting Mayor had been convicted of a Class X felony in 1995 and sentence to 50 years in prison, Napp sentenced him to 60 years for the death of Dunnavant-Polach. Mayor must serve 100 percent of the sentence, in effect making it a life sentence.
Mayor told Napp he wanted to file an appeal, and Napp said an appellate public defender would be appointed to represent him.
According to court documents, Mayor has a criminal record going back to a felony weapons conviction in 1989. He also has convictions for battery, drug-related offenses, sex offenses and other crimes.
At the time the original charges were filed Mayor was also listed on the Illinois State Police sex offender database as living in Washington Park under one of his other names.
He has a conviction for aggravated criminal sexual assault out of Madison County. The victim was 4 years old at the time, and Mayor was 30.
“This is a repeat offender,” Haine said. “This is a dangerous individual that we do not want on the streets of Pontoon Beach, and we are glad he will now, we believe, be incarcerated for the rest of his life.”
Tell us your thoughts...