Circuit Court Judge Heidi Benson on Friday morning sentenced Dylan Lovato to 60 years in prison for the March 9, 2022 shooting death of Ivan Almanza in Macomb.
Benson called the shooting a “methodical, cold-blooded murder” and “an attempt to exert power and control over a former domestic partner.”
Lovato, now 26, drove four hours to Macomb in the middle of the night, let himself into the apartment of his ex-girlfriend, Emily Check, and shot Almanza three times in the head while Almanza was asleep. Lovato used two firearms that he had taken from his stepfather’s home.
Benson called the crime “disturbing” due to the premeditation and planning that went into it.
A McDonough County jury deliberated for only about an hour on Aug. 1, 2024 before convicting Lovato of first-degree murder.
Lovato was sentenced to 35 years on that charge and an additional 25 years for using firearms in the crime.
But Benson said, “The court is so disturbed by this crime that it would have issued a 60-year sentence even without the firearm enhancement.”
Lovato must serve 100% of the sentence. He will get credit for the 1,123 days he’s been in custody in the McDonough County jail.
Almanza’s family heartbroken
Almanza’s mother and his two brothers gave victim impact statements during the sentencing hearing.
Fighting through tears, Nancy Lemus said she is the single mother of three boys. “Now two,” she said.
Lemus said Ivan loved talking to people and hoped to be a nurse practitioner. He was completing studies at Spoon River College.
She said he called her every day.
“He could always make me laugh,” she said.
Lemus said she arrived home from work on March 9, 2022, to find her two remaining sons waiting in the living room to tell her the “devastating news.”
She said she felt like dying.
“My heart is forever broken,” Lemus said. “It hurts me so much that I’m never going to hug him again.”
Raising her voice, and looking across the courtroom at Lovato, Lemus said, “You killed my son over nothing.”
She called the shooting cowardly.
“My son was asleep. He couldn’t even defend himself,” she said. “There is no justification for what happened. My son did not harm you or anybody else.”
She said Ivan should be alive, enjoying his life. She asked Judge Benson to impose the maximum sentence.
Ivan’s brothers, Edward and Andrew, also asked for the maximum sentence.
Edward, his older brother, said he last saw Ivan at his wedding, where Ivan was a groomsman. Edward and his wife are now expecting a child who Edward said will never get to know their uncle.
Edward said there’s no justice for what Lovato did.
“I hope you suffer every single day you’re in prison and never see the light of day,” he said.
Andrew, Ivan’s fraternal twin, said things will never be normal in his life without Ivan. He said he answered the door when the coroner showed up at their house with the news.
“Dylan doesn’t regret what he did. He’d do it to someone else if he had a chance,” Andrew said. “I hope you never know a day of peace.”
‘You will die a coward’
Emily Check gave her victim impact statement via Zoom.
Check called Lovato a monster.
She said she has flashbacks to the night of the shooting that make her afraid to sleep. Check said she’s always on high alert and finds it hard to relate to anybody.
Check said Almanza was a creative and kind soul. She’s heartbroken over his death.
“He died a hero, and you will die a coward,” Check said.
She said Lovato thinks only of himself and has shown no remorse. She also called for the maximum penalty.
“Our lives will never be the same,” Check said.
Also during the hearing, Sheriff’s Deputy Peter Murfin took the stand to share what Lovato told his parents in the back of the courtroom after the jury returned its verdict.
“I told you I would protect her, and I did. I would rather be judged by 12 than carried by six,” Lovato said according to Murfin.
The defense did not dispute the account.
Lovato apologizes
Lovato opened his statement of elocution by addressing Almanza.
“Dear Ivan. Hey brother. I’m so sorry. I think about you every day,” Lovato said.
He said he wished he had not given in to the temptation of sin.
“I killed my friend. I killed my brother. I think about it every day,” Lovato said. “I hope, God willing, I can see you again one day.”
He said he prays for Ivan every day and has dreams about him.
Lovato also looked over to Ivan’s family and apologized to them.
“God bless you and your family. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” he said.
A ‘clearly premeditated execution of a human being’
Special Assistant State’s Attorney Susan Maxwell prosecuted the case.
She asked for a sentence of 85 years in prison for Lovato. But she said Judge Benson put a lot of thought and reasoning into the sentence, and said 60 years will keep Lovato behind bars for much if not all of the rest of his life.
Maxwell called the crime a heinous act.
“This was the most clearly premeditated execution of a human being that I have been involved in the prosecution of,” Maxwell said.
She’s been a prosecutor for 21 years.
Maxwell called the victim impact statements “gut wrenching.” She said the sentence will help bring closure to Almanza’s family, Check, and everyone else directly affected by the shooting.
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