Six years prison for killer in ‘hot dog’ case

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

A Hazel Crest, Ill., man who admitted he killed a man in Hammond in a dispute over a hot dog and piece of bread was sentenced to six years in prison for voluntary manslaughter.

James Graham, 74, faced a maximum 20-year sentence after admitting he killed David Marx, 53, of Hammond, but received the minimum sentence.

Marx died of extensive craniocerebral injuries and bled to death after being cut in the right throat and lower left cheek on Jan. 1, 2010 at an apartment in the 6200 block of Van Buren Avenue.

Marx and Graham were at the apartment when Marx went into the kitchen to get a hot dog and piece of bread. Graham confronted him about being warned not to eat his food and not to mess with anything in the kitchen that was his.

“Who do you think you is playing with?” Graham admitted he told Marx.

In court before Judge Clarence Murray, Graham said Marx hit him with a pan during an altercation.

Murray heard from Graham’s family, including Pastor Sandra Williams, who described her former brother-in-law as a father figure who helped raise her and her siblings and paid for their education.

Graham, who has a sociology degree, was a successful businessman who helped finance the start of her ministry, she said. Graham changed dramatically and spiraled into crack cocaine use after his children died in 2002 and 2004, Williams said.

Deputy prosecutor Angela Mattozzi argued for a 15-year sentence, noting that despite Graham’s education and strong family support he has had a series of arrests for violent crimes. He had one prior felony dating to 1959, Mattozzi said.

Defense attorney Adam Tavitas noted the more recent arrests did not result in convictions and sought leniency.

Murray found Graham’s age as a mitigating factor in imposing the sentence.

Graham had been charged with murder, punishable by a 45- to 65-year sentence. That charge was dismissed.