Posted on November 05, 2012 in Criminal Defense

A 15-year-old high school student is charged with aggravated battery of a school official, reports the Chicago Tribune. The Larkin High School student walked into a classroom on October 24^th during a break and attacked a 51-year-old male teacher. He knocked the teacher on to the ground and punched him in the face many times, the officials say.

There were other students in the classroom who managed to stop the attacker and then called for help. The violent student was taken away by the school’s resource officer and dean’s office employees, and eventually he was taken to the Kane County Juvenile Justice Center. The teacher is recovering from his minor injuries in a hospital.

In addition to the charges, the aggressive student might face suspension or expulsion from the school.”This is a senseless act of violence toward another person,” said John Heiderscheidt, District U-46 safety coordinator, who was unable to provide a motive for the attack. “There really is no explanation.” This is the first time the student has committed a crime.

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 Posted on October 29, 2012 in Weapons

In the evening of Saturday, October 20^th, a father and son argued about a handgun. The gun itself belonged to the father, a convicted felon, named Charles Johnson. According to police reports, Johnson had originally hidden the gun in his garage but it had gone missing nearly 6 months ago. The problem arose when his 17-year-old son left the gun on his desk in his room. The confrontation took a turn for the worse as the two started to wrestle for control of the weapon.

This occurred at their home near the 1300 block of West Estes Avenue in the Rodgers Park neighborhood of Chicago. “It appears the son had (the gun) and he was trying to take it away from him,” Police News Affairs officer Robert Perez reported.“It discharged in the process.” The teenager was shot in the head by his father’s gun. The wound was located around his right check. He is currently in critical condition as late as Monday morning after the event. He is being treated at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston.

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 Posted on October 26, 2012 in Criminal Defense

On October 6^th, a pot farmer living in Aurora was taken into custody. He was trying to keep his pot plants warm after midnight on that Saturday night by creating two huge bonfires. His efforts to save his pot from the cold only helped to have them seized. These blazes alerted the local police to possible illegal activities and ended up getting Daniel Selmon, 23, arrested for his illegal plants.

A police officer for the city of Aurora was on his nightly patrol when he saw the two bonfires near the 800 block of Robert Street around 2:45 on Saturday morning. Upon investigating these illegal fires, the officer came to find what looked like three large marijuana plants growing in the corner of the yard. When the police officer confiscated the plants, they found it to weigh nearly seven pounds total. The police have not declared what the street value is for such a large amount of pot.

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 Posted on October 23, 2012 in Theft

A former manager of an assisted living home for the developmentally disabled has been accused of stealing more than $9000 from four residents of the home by using their bank cards without their permission. Linda Cottrell, 37, was arraigned on charge of financial exploitation of a disabled person. Her bail was set at $50,000 by the court.

According to a report in the Daily Herald, prosecutors told that court that Cottrell had access to the safe where the residents’ bank cards were kept. The alleged thefts began occurring in December 2008 and continued up until December 2011. Cottrell is accused of making multiple unauthorized withdrawals, ranging in amounts between $110 up to $7,698, with a total amount of $8,848 taken.

Cottrell was charged when another employee of the home noticed a discrepancy in some of the accounts. A statement released by State Attorney Robert Berlin said his office would prosecute Cottrell to the “fullest extent of the law.”

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 Posted on October 22, 2012 in Criminal Defense

A twenty-two year on-again, off-again relationship has tragically ended after a final domestic argument that has left a 40 year old Antioch woman dead. Michael Axtell, 41, has been charged with the murder of Tammy L. Stone, the mother of his 19 year old daughter.

According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, Stone called the couple’s daughter and told her that she and Axtell were fighting. When the daughter arrived at her parents’ home, bringing two friends with her, she found her mother with a black eye. The daughter got into a physical altercation with her father about the condition her mother was in.

She then went into the garage of the home, and reported to police she heard a “thud” coming from the house. She and her friends went back into the house, as her father was leaving, and found Stone unresponsive in a bedroom. The daughter called 911, but paramedics were unable to revive her. Stone was transferred to the hospital were she later died of her injuries. Preliminary findings by the coroner’s office show that Stone died of blunt force trauma to the head.

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 Posted on October 17, 2012 in Criminal Defense

Estella Carrera married Arlondo Jimenez on May 11^th, never suspecting that she had less than 48 hours to live. She was found dead just two days after her wedding. She had been stabbed and was still wearing the cocktail dress that she had worn to her wedding reception. Not long after Carrera was found, a murder warrant was issued for her husband.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Jimenez had been seen in a 2006 Maserati and was thought to be fleeing to Mexico to avoid charges. It was later reported that he had stated to friends that there was an emergency the day after his new wife was killed. He had also stated to relatives that he had a fight with Carrera and had left her bleeding but still alive.

Arlondo was reported to be with his brother, Humberto Jimenez when he was attempting to flee. Humberto was being investigated on unrelated drug charges and is accused of leading a major drug conspiracy. During a recent court appearance, new information was gathered regarding the Maserati and it was found in Humberto Jimenez’s garage. The inside of the vehicle was covered in blood and it appears that someone had attempted to clean it up. The Burbank now has possession of the vehicle and Arlondo Jimenez remains at large.

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 Posted on October 16, 2012 in Criminal Defense

According to the Chicago Tribune, Chicago police report that over one fourth of all of the murders in Chicago this year have had some kind of affiliation with the notorious street gang, the Gangster Disciples. There have been over 400 killings just this year, which is the troubled cities highest murder rate in years.

The Gangster Disciples have ruled South Side Chicago neighborhoods for decades. Authorities report that there are now several factions within the same gang such as the Killa Ward and the Hit Squad that are now turning against each other over the same neighborhoods that they once shared. Of all of the known Chicago street gangs, the Gangster Disciples have the highest attribution to the city’s total homicide rate.

It is estimated that there are over 30,000 Gangster Disciples in the city, also making the gang the largest in numbers. It is reported that the younger gang members do not follow the hierarchy that was set up by their predecessors and this is part of the cause for this year’s eruption of violence.

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 Posted on October 12, 2012 in Criminal Defense

Police are searching for even more victims of Derrick D. Chaney, who they suspect is an online predator. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Chaney was charged for several violations including three counts of criminal sexual assault, unlawful restraint and kidnapping.

Chaney met a woman from Davenport, Iowa on a dating website. He communicated with the woman online and on the telephone for several weeks before meeting the woman at a motel in Aurora, Illinois. He allegedly held the woman against her will and sexually assaulted her at that time.

During the course of the investigation, police were led to believe that he has met numerous other women online through dating and singles websites as well as in several nightclubs. He has used several aliases, lied about his occupation and level of education as well as his financial status. He likes to give an appearance of being rich which, is helped by the fact that he drives luxury vehicles and dresses well. He also has repeatedly boasted about his VIP status at different clubs in the northwest suburbs.

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 Posted on October 05, 2012 in Traffic Offenses

According to the Chicago Tribune, Lukasz Marszalek, 22, was involved in a fatal crash last year that ended the life of Julie Gorczynski, 17. Marszalek was driving his car almost 80 mph in a 40-mph zone when Julie made a left turn in front of him with her Jeep. She was killed in the ensuing crash.

Marszalek was charged with aggravated speeding, which has a maximum penalty of 180 days in jail. On Tuesday, September 25, Marszalek received the maximum punishment and was sentenced to six months in jail. His original charge was aggravated reckless driving, which is a felony, but it was reduced to a misdemeanor because there was not enough evidence. Marszalek also had previous speeding violations and seven court supervisions, and soon after the crash he got a speeding ticket in Indiana.

A new legislation, called Julie’s Law, that imposes more serious penalties on excessive speeders, was signed in July. Julie Gorczynski’s parents helped in getting the legislation through the Illinois General Assembly. The law prohibits judges from giving court supervision to drivers that are caught driving over 25 mph over the limit on a non-rural road or 30 mph on a highway. Formerly supervision could be granted for drivers traveling up to 40 mph over the limit.

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 Posted on October 02, 2012 in Disorderly Conduct

On September 14^th, a Cook County prosecutor intervened in a quarrel between four men which nearly cost him his life, reports the Chicago Tribune. He was on his way to meet a friend at Diversey Harbor to go fishing when he saw two men being chased by two guys in a park. The men were screaming for help, so the prosecutor intervened. He yelled to the chasers and told them to stop, but instead of stopping, they attacked the prosecutor. He managed to grab one of the attackers and tried to keep use him as a shield between himself and the second attacker, but he lost his footing and fell to the ground. The attackers hit him with a beer bottle and stabbed him several times.

The wounded prosecutor was helped to a nearby hospital by his friend who arrived near the park not long after the attack. The prosecutor had suffered injuries to his side, face, and under his right arm. The injuries were not severe, however, and he is recovering from the attack at home.

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