Saturday, June 30, 2012
An attorney for teen accused of killing his parents leaves the case. Oak Lawn doctor accused of fondling prepared to go to trial.
The Southland's major criminal and civil cases heard in Cook County and Will County courts this week. OAK LAWN — Rajat Prakash, an Advocate Christ Medical Center doctor accused of fondling a female patient in a semi-conscious state, returns to court on Aug. 1 for possibly the last time before trial. On Monday, defense attorney Nicholas Faklis said he was ready to proceed on a misdemeanor battery charge. Prosecutors asked for another pretrial hearing. In May, a second woman alleged that, on the pretext of reviewing medical information outside the hospital, Prakash fondled her and forced her hand on his penis in his SUV. That case returns before a felony judge on July 16. A civil investigation is also ongoing, according to an attorney who …
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Will County Judge to rule on whether murder defendant's confession was forced, and whether cooperative burglars deserve jail time.
The Southland's major criminal and civil cases heard in Cook County and Will County courts this week. OAK FOREST — Former City Attorney Pleads Not Guilty by Insanity The defense says it will rely on a mental health evaluation to prove David Baitman was insane at the time of the crime, the result of brain damage caused by repeated stroke. ORLAND PARK — Alleged 'Orland Ghost Rider' Gets Week in McDonough County Jail He was acquitted of felony fleeing and eluding police, but also ordered to find a job and seek psychological help. TINLEY PARK — Private Attorneys for 'Tinley Park 5' Express Sympathy for Anti-Racist Cause The National Lawyers Guild was helpful in pairing at least some of the Ashford House attack defendants with attorneys who are…
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Also, Kustok pretrial investigations move from prosecutors to defense attorneys. Judge extends protection order filed against the vice president of the New Lenox District 122 Board of Education.
The Southland's major criminal and civil cases heard in Cook County and Will County courts this week. OAK LAWN — Oak Lawn Bank Robbery Suspect Charged in Federal Court Police said a man connected to Saturday's robbery of the Bank of America branch in Oak Lawn has been charged with one count of robbery. Bank employees say they heard what sounded like the robber talking to another person outside the bank on a cell phone. ORLAND PARK — Dennis Dodson’s ruddy hair and beard and neon-yellow jumpsuit provided the only color Tuesday in an otherwise quick and routine court appearance. Dodson was charged last year with the daylight kidnap and molestation of an 83-year-old woman behind the Orland Park Home Depot. He remained in jail on a $1.5 million…
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Also, a murder defendant says his confession was forced, an arrest of a key witness looms in a Tinley Park animal cruelty case and other news from the courthouse.
The Southland's major criminal and civil cases heard in Cook County and Will County courts this week. OAK LAWN —Ed Baron, an attorney for Michael T. Kelly, requested another court date for June 29 in which, after months of tossing around the term, he and the state may finally settle on a plea deal. A former Village of Oak Lawn employee, Kelly was accused last year of beating and choking a girl on her bicycle. ORLAND PARK — Robert Phelan returns to Judge Colleen Hyland’s courtroom on July 24, exactly one year after his arrest for the alleged sexual molestation of a 93-year-old female dementia patient. On that date, assistant state’s attorney Mary Louise Norwell plans to argue in favor of using the woman’s secondhand testimony as evidence …
Saturday, May 12, 2012
A Chicago man was sentenced Friday for his role in robbing a dead man's home and other court news.
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Saturday, May 12, 2012
The Southland's major criminal and civil cases heard in Cook County and Will County courts this week. OAK LAWN — More Sex Abuse Charges Against Advocate Christ Doc Dr. Rajat Prakash, 46, of Oak Brook is facing a second accusation of fondling a patient. Following a misdemeanor battery charge that he had fondled a 32-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis while she was in a semi-conscious state, Oak Lawn police said another woman came forward a few days after the charge were filed on Feb. 15. The second accuser said he touched her private areas without her consent when they met to discuss her medical information. A civil case against the doctor is also in the works. He will be back in court on May 17. NEW LENOX David R. Reed, 23, of Chicago…
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Evidence comes in against man accused of soliciting sex from children through the Internet. Trial was set for one of two men, the search for whom caused a lockdown of Frankfort-area schools and neighborhoods last year.
The Southland's major criminal and civil cases heard in Cook County and Will County courts this week. NEW LENOX — A judge on Thursday denied Rodney Julun’s request to put a “gag order” on two men who could be called to testify against him during trial. Julun is accused of murdering Dwight Jones of New Lenox Township with a lamp and then enlisting David Reed and John White to rob his home and property over the next several days. Evidently unaware that court hearings are open to the public, Julun said he does not believe he can get a fair trial because Reed and White have been leaking “their stories” to the media. The two men remain in jail, awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to residential burglary, and have never spoken directly …
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Also, former-Tinley Park cop sentenced to probation for DUI hit and run. State's investigation into the death of Jeanie Kustok to wrap up soon.
The Southland's major criminal and civil cases heard in Cook County and Will County courts this week. OAK LAWN — There was no mention of a plea deal Tuesday for Michael T. Kelly, a former Village of Oak Lawn employee accused of beating and choking a young girl. Prosecutors dropped an unspecified video into the evidence pool. Kelly’s defense attorney, Ed Barron, said so long as the state continued to tender evidence, a possible deal would have to wait. Both parties return to court on May 31. ORLAND PARK — State to Finish Pretrial Murder Investigation Against Allan Kustok A year and a half later, Kustok's defense attorneys will soon begin a pretrial investigation of its own, one that may rely in part on conflicting forensic opinion. He …
Monday, April 16, 2012
In other courthouse news: Tinley Park animal cruelty trial to start over again, cell-phone kiddie porn and Frankfort home burglaries.
The Southland's major criminal and civil cases heard in Cook County and Will County courts this week. ORLAND PARK— Arraignment is set April 23 for the alleged “Orland Ghost Rider,” a wheelie-popping biker who shot videos of himself fleeing and mocking police officers that were later found on YouTube. Justin Jachimiec, 22, has been indicted on felony charges in the past related to resisting arrest and driving a stolen vehicle. Also — Arraignment was set April 26 for a Park Forest man whose charges, in addition to stalking, now include possession of child pornography. Orland Park detectives say they found the images on James Shaver’s cell phone while investigating allegations that he had tried luring a girl into his car last year. TINLEY …
Saturday, April 7, 2012
In Other Courthouse News: A 72-year-old Mokena man was accused of sexually abusing three young relatives. Trial postponed again for animal rescue owner.
The Southland's major criminal and civil cases heard in Cook County and Will County courts this week. TINLEY PARK — Animal Cruelty Trial Postponed Without Presiding Judge Dawn Hamill was charged with several dozen counts of animal cruelty and neglect of owner's duties following a raid on her Tinley Park business in February 2011. Her attorney will try again to get the charges tossed out. NEW LENOX — Attorneys said they have begun “kicking around” a possible plea deal for the man accused of murdering Dwight Jones but have not reached a formal offer. Prosecutors allege that after Rodney Julun bludgeoned Jones inside his New Lenox Township home, in June 2011, he and two other men proceeded to rob Jones’ house over the course of several days. …
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Pretrial hearings begin April 24 for Rodney Albright of unincorporated Lockport.
A man accused of videotaping a girl in the bathroom of his home has pleaded not guilty to charges including child pornography. Rodney Albright, 58, of unincorporated Lockport, remained in jail Tuesday on a $3 million bond. Albright is a former Village of Palos Park employee. Will County Sheriff’s Police allege that Albright, a former foster parent, secretly videotaped a 13-year-old girl, who reached out to school officials. Sheriff’s spokesman Ken Kaupas said detectives uncovered digital media evidence that later led to Albright’s arrest. In a statement, Palos Park officials said the allegations are not related to Albright’s duties as a village code enforcement officer—a position from which he resigned last month when the allegations first…
Allen Gable
8:22 am on Tuesday, June 19, 2012
"I was too drugged-up to know what I was doing ,your honor,, so please let me back out into society....." "Me and my co-thug are reaaal sorry we committed these crimes repeatedly over the course of days. Sorry we got caught, that is." more ›