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Recent Blog Posts
Man Found With 90,000 Illegal DVD’s
Joseph Palmisano was receiving an awful lot of packages from Hong Kong. All these deliveries caught the attention of the Department of Homeland Security. It caught enough of their attention that they began an investigation that has resulted in Palmisano’s arrest.
Palmisano, of Bartlett, is currently being held on $25,000 bond.
According to Bartlett Police Commander Michael McGuigan, authorities found an estimated 90,000 DVD’s at Palmisano’s home. In an interview with WGN News, McGuigan said that there were boxes of DVD’s that went from the floor to the ceiling in both the garage and living room of the house. He described little pathways that Palmisano had made to walk through.
Prosecutors are alleging that the DVD’s are all pirated copies of movies that were made in Asia. They are accusing Palmisano of selling the DVD’s online, and claim he made $220,000 selling the illegal products. They claim that the DVD’s included films, HBO programs and other television shows.
Man Charged in Shooting Death of Alleged Accomplice.
Tevin Louis, 19, is being held on $1 million bond. He has been charged with one count of first-degree murder, two counts of armed robbery and one count of disorderly conduct in the shooting death of 19-year-old Marquise Sampson. But Louis did not fire the gun that killed Sampson. Police did.
According to a report in the Chicago Sun Times, prosecutors told Judge Laura Sullivan that Louis and Sampson, armed with guns and wearing masks and gloves, robbed two employees at King Gyros. It is alleged that after taking money from the store’s cash register, they also took cash and a cell phone from the two employees, as well as cigarettes from the store’s inventory. The victims told police that the stolen items were thrown into a backpack, which Louis took with him when he left the store, and that Sampson left right after.
Sampson was spotted running by Gresham district by beat patrol officers. The officers reported that they ordered Sampson, who they say was holding onto his side while running, to stop. Instead, he kept running, with the uniformed officers chasing him. Sampson then pulled a gun and pointed it at one of the officers. The officer shot him twice. Sampson was later pronounced dead at the scene. The coroner has ruled the death a homicide. None of the officers present were injured.
Chicago Crime Wave Hurting Tourism
According to a story in the Chicago Tribune, the city’s ongoing efforts to revitalize its tourism industry might be damaged by the crime wave that is hitting the neighborhoods. Don Welsh, president and chief executive officer of Choose Chicago, told the Tribune that he hopes the crime wave is contained in a reasonable period of time, or it will have a negative effect on all the work being done at the moment. Choose Chicago is constantly getting calls from concerned people who have read the news reports of unprovoked attacks in the Michigan Avenue corridor and of the surge in murders in some impoverished parts of Chicago.
The issue has gained national attention after an article in the New York Times, and Welsh says that meeting planners are calling Choose Chicago and asking if the city is safe. Choose Chicago is maintaining a map of where violent crime is happening, and Chicago police have increased patrolling along the Magnificent Mile and its surrounding areas since the attacks. Even officers assigned to other parts of the city are patrolling the area.
Teens Attack and Rob Vietnam Veteran
According to the Chicago Tribune, two Chicago teens are accused of attacking and robbing a South Side 65-year-old man near Stroger Hospital as he was picking up his cousin from a doctor’s appointment. One of the teens allegedly hit Vietnam veteran Willie Haynes in the head, causing him to fall to the ground. The 18-year-old and 17-year-old teens robbed the victim of $100 and fled. Haynes was unconscious for a brief period of time before he was able to regain consciousness and get up. The two teens have been charged with aggravated robbery and aggravated battery to a senior citizen, and the court set bail for each teen at $100,000.
Each of these teenagers face potentially severe penalties for their alleged crimes. For instance, because the victim in this case was a senior citizen, the crime is a felony of a different class than general aggravated battery under Illinois law. As a result, if convicted, the teens may face jail and even prison time, even though one of the teenagers is still a minor. Given the gravity of these charges, a strong defense by an accomplished criminal defense lawyer will be necessary to minimize the negatives consequences that these charges are likely to bring if a conviction occurs for either teenager.
Supreme Court Endorses Verdict of Chicago Rapist
On June 18th, the Supreme Court voted on a controversial issue concerning in-court procedures. The Justice’s decision was split 5-4 in conflict with the high court’s ruling that any defendant should have the opportunity to question the expert testimony of a DNA analyst. The issue was presented by a Chicago-area man named Sandy Williams who was convicted of rape but was not allowed to question the reliability of the claims which influenced his sentencing.
Williams was convicted of raping a 22-year old woman in Chicago who was returning home from work and raped by a man in his car. The genetic material was sent for genetic testing to a laboratory in Maryland. With the results of that DNA profile, an analyst from the Illinois state crime lab named Sandra Lambatostestified at the trial and was cross-examined by Williams’ defense attorney.
The DNA expert’s testimony swore that William’s DNA matched a sample taken from the victim, which led to the conviction of Williams. The problem is presented by the fact that the expert played no role in the testing of the samples of William’s DNA. The 3rd party company, named Cellmark, who did the actual tests, was not present to defend their findings. Courts had previously ruled that criminal defendants have the privilege to interrogate the analyst who prepared the results of testing.
New Illinois Law Seeks to Escalate Gang Prosecution
On June 11th, Governor Pat Quinn signed a new law that will allow local authorities to pursue street gangs. In a measure that was approved by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the law is known as the Street Gang RICO Law, which stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations. Mayor Emanuel said the law would provide a “critical tool that will give local law enforcement the power to prosecute gang leaders for crimes that they ordered others to commit.”
The law is based in part on the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act which assigns heavy penalties for those gang leaders who order hits and other criminal activities. Through linking isolated crimes with conspiracy charges, much bigger cases can be brought against gang leaders. The street gang RICO law lists over a dozen of crimes such as murder for hire, kidnapping, hijacking and sex trafficking; it also imposes harder penalties. The new state law allows for sentences of more than 30 years and fines of up to $250,000 for charges of criminal conspiracy.
Two Teenagers Bring Handgun to Elementary School
A recent report in the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago police officers arrested two teenagers for possessing a handgun at Finkl Academy, an elementary school on Chicago’s Southwest Side. After a student privy to the incident reported that they had witnessed a 14-year-old girl handling a gun at school, school officials called the girl into the school office. The girl surrendered the gun to school officials without incident, while claiming that she was holding the gun for a male 15-year-old student until after school. Both teenagers now face gun possession charges in juvenile court.
With countless reports of school violence across the nation these days, school officials and law enforcement authorities cannot afford to take reports of a student possessing a gun at school lightly. As a result, the potential consequences for a minor facing gun possession and other gun-related charges can be quite severe. Not only can these children face expulsion from school, but they may face other penalties through the juvenile court system, including a period of incarceration. Whenever any person is charged with a gun-related criminal offense, you must take these charges seriously, even if the alleged offender is a juvenile.
Joliet Crash Kills Plainfield Man
The Chicago Tribune has reported that a June 9th motor vehicle accident on I-80 near Joliet has claimed the life of a 25-year-old Plainfield motorcyclist. Juan Juarez Del-Angel was riding his motorcycle on I-80 west of I-55 when a Kia sport utility vehicle driven by 42-year-old Aaron Pointer of Joliet lost control when merging onto I-80 from I-55 and drove directly into the path of Del-Angel’s motorcycle. Del-Angel, who was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, was pronounced dead shortly thereafter at a Joliet hospital.
At the time of the crash, Pointer was driving on a suspended license and had no insurance coverage. Authorities also ticketed Pointer for improper lane usage.
As you can see, what started as a few relatively minor offenses has resulted in the death of another person. While it is unclear in this case why Pointer lost control of his vehicle, the reality is that he was violating the law in choosing to drive his SUV, and therefore caused a fatal accident. As a result, depending on the circumstances that the investigation into this crash reveals, Pointer could theoretically face much more serious criminal charges.
Visit to Jail Lands Man in a Cell of His Own
Julius Price, 23, managed to evade police for two weeks. The Chicago man had been identified as the prime suspect in the stabbing of four Guardian Angels on a North Side “L” platform. Ironically, Price was arrested after attempting to visit his co-defendant, Keith Gunn, 34, at the Cook County Jail. When arrested, Price was carrying a Bible and a length of rope.
Prosecutors told the Chicago Tribune that Gunn had pistol-whipped a 27 year old passenger on the train in an attempt to steal the man’s cell phone. When he fled with the phone, four Angels caught him and brought him down to the ground. Price allegedly approached the group with a knife.
According to the report, Price stabbed one of the Angles in the lower abdomen and another in the upper arm, which took eleven stitches to close. He cut another on the right arm, sending that man to the hospital for seventeen stitches. Another Angel was stabbed on top of the head and was also bitten on the arm. Both Price and Gunn ran away but the attack was caught on security cameras.
Former Bank Account Accused of Embezzling Almost $280,000
Shaun Horan, 31, of Aurora, worked as an accountant at Resource One Bank in Oak Brook from 2007 to 2011. He was recently charged with embezzling almost $300,000 from his former employer. Authorities allege that Horan wrote himself unauthorized checks totaling $286,237.23 from the company account, and in an attempt to conceal the thefts, either deleted or changed entries in the company’s books.
A co-worker discovered the missing money in December while reviewing bank records. A follow up internal audit by the bank confirmed the amount of the money that had been stolen. According to prosecutors, by then, Horan had already spent some of the money on a down payment for a house and a new car.
The Daily Herald reports that Horan is married with two children and has been working for a Chicago-based staffing service for about the past three months. He was charged with one count of theft over $100,000 and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. His bail was set at $250,000.
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