People v. Laboy-Rivera

Defendants Santiago Laboy-Rivera (Rivera) and Juan Andino (Andino) were tried simultaneously before a jury and found guilty of murder, armed robbery and armed violence. Rivera was sentenced to concurrent terms of 50 years for three counts of murder, three counts of armed robbery and armed violence. Andino was sentenced to concurrent terms of 55 years for each conviction.

On appeal, Rivera contends that (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion for severance, and (2) his sentence for felony murder is excessive due to his passive participation in the crime and because it was based on…