Posted on March 03, 2013 in Violent Crime

On Thursday February 14^th, a couple celebrated Valentine’s Day with a night on the town. Skokie resident Elaine Cook, 51, and her boyfriend later returned to her apartment and got into a fight. The altercation became bloody when Cook bit her boyfriend’s tongue.

At first, Cook requested that her boyfriend of ten months to leave. She became even more upset when he attempted to kiss her goodnight. Cook bit off a chunk of her boyfriend’s tongue. She was arrested and charged with aggravated domestic battery and is being held in place of a $100,000 bail.

The boyfriend, who asked not to be named in the press, put the portion of his tongue on ice in an attempt to have it reattached. An ambulance was called by Cook’s roommate and transported the boyfriend to Evanston Hospital. Unfortunately, the doctors were unable to reattach the chunk of tongue due to a lack of blood flow.

At this point, the 47 year old man from Chicago is unsure what the next step will be. He reported that “It’s just sad. The whole thing. I’m in a lot of pain and I’m not sure what direction I’m going to at this point.” He does know that he doesn’t want to see Cook in jail or have her life ruined.

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 Posted on February 28, 2013 in Criminal Defense

A father of two small children and a loving husband who dedicates his life to our nation is a hero. One who put his life on the line for four tours of duty in Iraq, scouting out 150 insurgents to rid them to become the United States deadliest sniper, to come home and help his fellow veterans, becomes a legend. Respect for such a patriotic family man should go wherever he goes. Unfortunately, the things that we are most passionate about can hurt us.

Former marine and post-traumatic stress disorder victim, Eddie Ray Routh, has been charged with shooting Navy SEAL sniper great, Chris Kyle and neighbor friend, Chad Littlefield in a Glen Close, Texas, gun range. He is charged with three counts of murder after having a $3 million bond set. As a PTSD war veteran, Routh was probably spending time with Kyle because Kyle’s heart was to help other war veterans through the transition of being back home from the war front. Though they did not meet through Kyle’s organization for war veterans with PTSD, Kyle was known to help anyone he met.

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 Posted on February 26, 2013 in DUI/DWI

Illinois Auditor General William Holland was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in Springfield on February 8, the Chicago Tribune reported. Holland, 61, admitted that he received tickets for alleged drunken driving and improper lane usage. According to a police report, Holland “had a very strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath, red, blood-shot glassy eyes.” Holland underwent field sobriety tests, which he failed. He also refused to take a breath test which means his license will be suspended for a year.

Holland said the entire matter was “unfortunate… I was in my own car,” he said. “It was not a state vehicle. There was nobody else with me. I was on my own time. I’m happy to say that there was no damage to any property or any individual.” He is scheduled for a court appearance in March.

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 Posted on February 23, 2013 in Theft

A rare coin dealer has pleaded guilty to buying purportedly stolen valuables from undercover police officers who posed as criminals, the Chicago Tribune reported. James Coello, 47, pleaded guilty to “continuing a financial crimes enterprise” on February 6. His sentence includes 36 months of probation, 100 hours of community service and some fees and fines.

Although Coello originally had pleaded not guilty, the coin dealer changed his mind and made a plea bargain with the prosecution. “I don’t really know the many machinations of how this works. All I know is I paid a lawyer and he pretty much took care of everything,” Coello said. It is always important to discuss the details of your case with a criminal defense lawyer no matter what the charges are.

Coello was arrested in September after the undercover operation in which police sold him purportedly stolen merchandise such as jewelry, coins and watches. Furthermore, investigators found stolen property, which was reported stolen in recent burglaries, from Coello’s store.

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 Posted on February 20, 2013 in Criminal Defense

A drug bust of a storage locker in Carol Stream has led to further arrests of police officers from Schaumburg. The storage locker belonged to an informant who worked with the police. When he was taken into custody, he had a very interesting story to tell. He claimed that the police were supplying him with drugs seized from other drug dealers to sell on the streets.

The Carol Stream police investigated further and found that this was true. DEA agents arrested the cops outside of the Woodfield Mall on January 16^th. John Cichy, Matthew Hudak and Terrance O’Brien were all tactical officers in the division that deals with drugs, gangs and other issues that require undercover work.

The police officers took drugs like marijuana, cocaine and cash from legitimate busts to make more money. Now the men are facing a multitude of felony charges which could mean decades in prison. The charges include manufacturing and delivering of illegal drugs, official misconduct, armed violence, theft, and criminal drug conspiracy.

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 Posted on February 17, 2013 in Violent Crime

According to a recent article posted by IndyStar, David Scott Rodenbarger was convicted for two counts of murder over this past weekend- that of his mother and his 6-year-old half-sister. It has just recently been released that a two-pronged meat fork and knife were found at the scene of the crime.

Rodenbarger’s mother, 41-year-old Michelle Haskins, died from a serious stab wound to her neck, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in White Superior Court 1. His half-sister, 6-year-old Jillian Haskins, died due to multiple stab wounds and swelling of her brain, which was caused by blunt force trauma to her head.

Both Haskins were found at around 1:30 a.m. Saturday at their home near Lake Freeman in Monticello. Indiana State Police reported that Michelle Haskins was able to call 911 before succumbing to her injuries.

A motive has not been specified for the crime, but Rodenbarger has allegedly implicated himself in the two deaths. He was found in the home at the time the police arrived; his hands and clothes were bloodstained.

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 Posted on February 14, 2013 in Sexual Assault

Herbert Burgess, 58, was convicted in early February in a Cook County Circuit Court of a Class X felony and sentenced to 24 years in prison. Burgess was accused of sexually assaulting a youth who worked for him, “the son of friends he had known for years,” according to the Chicago Tribune. Burgess was a former executive for a Buffalo Grove printing firm, and the assault of the young man occurred in Burgess’ residence on Lexington Drive. The 24-year sentence will be served concurrently, according to the Tribune, and includes 15 years for criminal sexual assault and three years for unlawful restraint. One of the key witnesses in the trial was a male who claimed on the stand that Burgess had molested him in 1978 after having been plied with alcoholic beverages.

According to the United States Bureau of Justice, sexual assault can be described for “a wide range of victimizations, separate from rape or attempted rape.” They usually involve attacks or attempted attacks, and usually involve unwanted sexual contact. Sexual assault can also refer to verbal threats. According to a Canadian Justice Department publication, a perpetrator of sexual abuse will “most likely be a friend or family member.” The specifics of the sexual assault in the Burgess case were not revealed to the media, though it was clear that he was an old acquaintance of his victim.

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 Posted on February 11, 2013 in Criminal Defense

A drug bust of a storage locker in Carol Stream has led to further arrests of police officers from Schaumburg. The storage locker belonged to an informant who worked with the police. When he was taken into custody, he had a very interesting story to tell. He claimed that the police were supplying him with drugs seized from other drug dealers to sell on the streets.

The Carol Stream police investigated further and found that this was true. DEA agents arrested the cops outside of the Woodfield Mall on January 16^th. John Cichy, Matthew Hudak and Terrance O’Brien were all tactical officers in the division that deals with drugs, gangs and other issues that require undercover work.

The police officers took drugs like marijuana, cocaine and cash from legitimate busts to make more money. Now the men are facing a multitude of felony charges which could mean decades in prison. The drug charges include manufacturing and delivering of illegal drugs, official misconduct, armed violence, theft, and criminal drug conspiracy.

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 Posted on February 08, 2013 in Violent Crime

A recent case of four young adults accused of strangling two of their friends and attempting to dismember their bodies will be prosecuted by the Will County state’s attorney because he said it is so “heinous.”

Investigators shared that when cops arrived at the house in which the victims’ lifeless bodies were found, three of the suspects were found playing video games.

Joshua Miner, 24; Alisa Massaro, 18; Bethany McKee, 18; and Ada, Landerman, 19, whose mother is a Joliet police sergeant, are facing first-degree murder charges.

According to police, the group phoned Eric Glover and Terrance Rankin, both 22, and invited them over to Massaro’s home before robbing and killing their own friends.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that according to authorities, the suspects wanted to dismember the men, but the Will County coroner said that the bodies were found whole.

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 Posted on February 05, 2013 in Criminal Defense

Members of Illinois’s newest General Assembly recently took the oath of office. As the state still struggles to rebuild its reputation as two consecutive governors went to prison, Illinois set another precedent of sorts; three sitting lawmakers are currently facing criminal charges.

Most recently in headline news about politics and crime in its highest office, former governor Rod Blagojevich was convicted for attempting to sell Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat. Comparable circumstances cannot be recalled by experts or capitol veterans since the early 1970s, when several were rounded up for a bribery trial relating to cement trucks.

The allegations against each of the three lawmakers vary greatly from bribery, to bank fraud to trying to bring a gun onto a plane. Experts say, however, that although the charges differ, the accumulation and timing is very damaging to the state as it is already struggling to combat some of the most serious financial problems in its entire history.

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