Wednesday, November 28, 2012
A doctor will testify at a bond hearing next week that 18-year-old Mohammad Salahat is not dangerous or violent, says defense attorney Joel Brodsky. He'll then use this testimony to argue his client should get a 'reasonable' bond.
After sitting in jail for more than a year, one teen charged in the robbery and beating death of a Palos township couple could get the chance to go home. A bond hearing for Mohammad K. Salahat, 18, is set for 1 p.m. on Dec. 3 in Judge Neil J. Linehan's Bridgeview courtroom, defense attorney Joel Brodsky told Patch during a phone interview on Tuesday. Salahat is charged with murder in connection with stabbing and beating death of John and Maria Granat, along with three alleged accomplices: Christopher Wyma, 18; Ehab Qasem, 20; and the couple's son, John Granat, 18. The four men have been in custody without bond since the incident. Linehan could rescind a no-bond order for Salahat at the Dec. 3 hearing. Salahat has been described by …
Friday, November 9, 2012
Joel Brodsky, the defense attorney for one of four young men charged in the murder of a Palos Township couple says a psychological evaluation of Mohammed Salahat will prove he isn't violent.
Attorneys in the murder case against one of four men accused in the robbery and beating death of a Palos Township couple are still hashing out the details of allowing a doctor to testify about one of the defendant's mental state, the defense said Thursday. Mohammed Salahat, 18, is charged with murder in the stabbing and beating death of John and Maria Granat, along with three alleged accomplices: Christopher Wyma, 18; Ehab Qasem, 20; and the couple's son, John Granat, 18. Salahat has been described by prosecutors as the driver who remained in a car outside the home while the other three beat and stabbed the Granats to death in their bedroom on Sept. 11, 2011. His attorney, Joel Brodsky, has said previously that Salahat was "the fall guy" …
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Also, an Orland Park man pleads guilty to a 2011 carjacking of an elderly woman in Tinley Park. Get the latest Southland courts news.
The Southland's major criminal and civil cases heard in Cook County and Will County courts this week. EVERGREEN PARK -- Woman Accused of Leaving Disabled Men in Hot Car Kathy Reed, 47, appeared in court Friday, Sept. 21 on abuse or criminal neglect charges stemming from an incident where she allegedly left four disabled men in a van on a hot summer day. She pleaded not guilty to the charges earlier this month. Another court date has been for Oct. 23. OAK LAWN -- Trio Accused in Buell Court Home Invasion Back in Court Next Month Three men charged with attempted murder, aggravated kidnapping and home invasion in a Buell Court home invasion in August are set to be back in court on Oct. 25. Authorities say Timmie Walton, 28, of Midlothian, and…
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
The public defender for John Granat, one of four teens accused in the armed robbery, home invasion and murder of his parents, appeared in court with his client for the first time Tuesday.
A public defender left a hearing in a Cook County courtroom Tuesday bogged down with an overstuffed accordion file folder and stacks of papers. It was LaFonzo Palmer's first day representing John Granat, 18, in the case against him and three other teens for the armed robbery and beating death of a Granat's parents, a Palos Township couple. Palmer didn't comment on the ongoing case and now joins the attorneys of the other three suspects, Mohammad Salahat, 18, Christopher Wyma, 18, and Ehab Qasem, 20. The four accused appeared in bright yellow Department of Corrections garb in Judge Neil Linehan's Bridgeview courtroom on Tuesday. Join the conversation. Like Palos Patch on Facebook and sign up for the breaking news alerts! Wyma and Granat …
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
All four defendants are due back in court on Sept. 18.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Arguing that the accusations are unconstitutional, attorney Joel Brodsky filed a motion Thursday to dismiss murder charges against his client—one of four defendants whom police say were part of a plan to murder a Palos Township couple.
The attorney for one of four teens accused of beating a Palos Township couple to death says it's unconstitutional to charge his client with a crime that comes with a mandatory life in prison sentence. Joel Brodsky filed a motion on Thursday to dismiss the murder charges against 17-year-old Mohammad Salahat. Salahat has been described by prosecutors as the driver who remained in a car Sept. 11, 2011, outside the home of John and Maria Granat while Christopher Wyma, 17; Ehab Qasem, 19; and their son John Granat, 18; beat and stabbed the two to death in their bedroom. Brodsky has said previously that Salahat was "the fall guy" in the murders. However, prosecutors argue that Salahat was fully aware of what was happening inside the home. All …
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Unable to pay private attorneys, two of the four young men charged with the 2011 murder of John and Maria Granat have opted for the free services of the Cook County Public Defender's Office.
Richard Beuke became the second private attorney on Wednesday to withdraw from the Granat murder case, citing the financial toll his services imposed on his young client. “He can’t afford it,” Beuke said of John Granat, 18, who has been accused of enlisting three friends to kill and rob his parents. The attorney cut off an interview at the Bridgeview courthouse Wednesday by adding, “That’s the sole reason.” In court, Beuke told Judge Neil Linehan that he made the decision to leave after several discussions with surviving members of the Granat family, some of whom have been present at every hearing. Granat’s aunt politely declined to comment. John Russell, another private attorney, left the case in April, nine months after authorities first…
Friday, April 27, 2012
Four young men are charged with the September 2011 murder of John and Maria Granat. No longer able to afford private counsel, one of them has opted for the free services of the Cook County Public Defender's Office.
A private attorney for Christopher Wyma, one of four young men charged with the murder of John and Maria Granat, withdrew from the case on Friday because his client’s family says it can no longer afford his services. John Russell leaves the case seven months after authorities first alleged that 17-year-old John Granat enlisted the help of Wyma, Mohammad Salahat and Ehab Qasem to beat, stab and rob his parents inside their Palos Township home. At the time of their arrests, Granat and Wyma were entering their senior year at Stagg High School, Qasem was taking college classes, and Salahat was attending Oak Lawn Community High School. They have each been indicted on 75 counts related to first-degree murder, home invasion and armed robbery. As …
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Mohammad Salahat is accused of driving other men to murder John and Maria Granat in Palos Township in September 2011.
An attorney for the youngest of four men accused of murdering a Palos Township couple is looking at psychological testing to “understand the intent of a 16-year-old” whom he says was literally along for the ride. In September, John Granat was accused of enlisting Christopher Wyma, Mohammad Salahat and Ehab Qasem to beat, stab and rob his parents, John and Maria. At the time of their arrests, Granat and Wyma were entering their senior year at Stagg High School, Qasem was taking college classes, and Salahat was attending Oak Lawn Community High School. Though authorities say Salahat acted as the driver, he has been indicted on the same number of counts related to murder, home invasion and armed robbery — 75 in total. “Intent in this case is …
Friday, December 30, 2011
Prosecutors turned over documents, photographs, video and Facebook records to the lawyers defending the teens accused of killing John and Maria Granat in September.
Prosecutors trying four men indicted in the killing of a Palos Township couple handed defense attorneys some 200 additional pages of documents and a disc containing 1,100 photographs. John Granat, 17, is accused of enlisting Christopher Wyma, 17, Mohammad Salahat, 17, and Ehab Qasem, 19, to beat, stab and rob his parents in September. All four have been indicted on 75 counts related to first-degree murder, home invasion and armed robbery in the deaths of Granat's parents, John, 44, and Maria Granat, 42. This latest exchange of evidence included lab and inventory reports, search warrants, and cell phone and Facebook records, said assistant state's attorney Donna Norton. Files from Granat’s personal school computer, as well as copies of …
Joyce Wright
7:48 am on Friday, February 15, 2013
To me, this screams once again, if you have MONEY, you will be treated and tried differently (either by being able to afford a suave attorney or you have enough money in the community to influence stuff and people.) Sad for the Granats, and also sad for this teen, who will not learn the proper lesson or pay proper justice if his case is "bought." more ›