June trial dates have now been set for all three defendants charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Highland Park 20-year-old Colin Nutter, during what officials said was a drug-related robbery in June 2013.
Although the trials of Michael Coffee, Benjamin Schenk and Philip Vatamaniuc have been severed, their trials have followed the same path. The three were scheduled for trial Monday before each was rescheduled during separate hearings over the past few weeks.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys have said two of the men, Schenk and Vatamaniuc, are at least tentatively exploring negotiated plea deals. A deal for Coffee came close to being completed last year before he rejected it prior to an appearance before Judge Victoria Rossetti, who is hearing the cases.
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Schenk, 21, of Highwood, Vatamaniuc, 18, and Coffee, 19, both of Highland Park, are accused of killing Nutter in his car during an alleged drug deal turned robbery attempt, according to police and prosecutors. Nutter was shot in the head, authorities said.
Vatamaniuc and Schenk have both been identified by prosecutors as the potential shooter in the case. Under state law, all three can be held accountable for first-degree murder if convicted at trial, but if one is convicted as having fired the gun, he could face an extended sentence well beyond the sentencing range of 20 to 60 years.
Nutter’s body was found June 3, 2013, the same day as the killing, in brush near the Edens Expressway in Wilmette.
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