Lake and McHenry County Scanner |
- Child critically injured, dog killed after both were hit by car in Beach Park
- Mother of AJ Freund files post-conviction petition, says she had been ‘seeing demons’ at time of her son’s killing
- Over $9,000 raised for family who lost their belongings, bird in house fire in Richmond
- Man allegedly threatened to smash woman’s head with crowbar during home invasion in Crystal Lake
- Woman dies following three-vehicle crash on Interstate 94 near Deerfield
- 1 victim suffers smoke inhalation after fire leaves home uninhabitable in Richmond
- 32 years in prison for Crystal Lake man who sexually assaulted child, video recorded it
- Chicago man pleads guilty to shooting, killing father of 5 after rear-end crash in Waukegan
- Man charged with bringing pills, marijuana into McHenry County Jail in Woodstock
- Officials remember trooper who was killed by drunk driver while saving a family on I-94 near Libertyville
- Jury convicts McHenry man of providing fentanyl-laced heroin that caused his sister’s death
- City fines Waukegan bar, allows it to reopen following multiple shootings, fights
- Police find convicted felon with 1,000 pills, loaded handgun during traffic stop in Zion
- 2 spa employees charged for offering sex in exchange for money to undercover agents in Cary
- 16 years in prison for Waukegan man who attempted to kill woman that turned down his romantic advances
| Child critically injured, dog killed after both were hit by car in Beach Park Posted: 01 Apr 2022 12:10 PM PDT    A 7-year-old boy is in critical condition and a dog was killed after the two were hit by a vehicle on a busy road in Beach Park Friday morning, police said. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Beach Park Fire Department responded around 9:20 a.m. Friday to the area of Emily’s Pancake House, 38730 North Sheridan Road in Beach Park, for a vehicle crash. Lake County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Ari Briskman said a 29-year-old Beach Park woman was driving a silver 2005 Ford Explorer on Sheridan Road north of Chaney Avenue. A 7-year-old boy and a dog, both of whom were from Beach Park, entered the roadway and were struck by the Ford as it traveled northbound. The child was transported by ambulance to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with critical injuries, Briskman said. The child is expected to be transferred to Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago for further treatment.  The dog was believed to be deceased and was removed from the scene by bystanders, Briskman said. The driver of the Ford Explorer, who was the sole occupant in the vehicle, was not injured and remained at the scene. The driver is cooperating in the investigation. Impairment is not believed to be a factor, Briskman said. The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff's Technical Crash Investigation Unit. The crash occurred in front of Emily’s Pancake House and the restaurant posted a short statement on social media. “Thank you to all our customers that have been calling to check on us. Emily's family is praying for the child that was struck in front of our business on Sheridan Road. In light of such a tragedy we can only send prayers and strength to the families involved!” the restaurant said. |
| Posted: 01 Apr 2022 09:54 AM PDT   The Crystal Lake mother serving a 35-year prison sentence for killing her son, AJ Freund, has filed a post-conviction petition, saying that she had been seeing demons and believed she and her son were possessed. JoAnn Cunningham, 39, formerly of Crystal Lake, filed a post-conviction petition in McHenry County Circuit Court earlier this week. Cunningham filed the petition pro se, meaning on her own behalf, and was seeking unspecified relief under the post-conviction act. She claimed that her 14th, 8th and 6th Amendment rights were violated after her arrest and during the time of her court case. In a handwritten five-page statement, Cunningham said she had ineffective counsel and was not allowed to testify on her own behalf in court. Cunningham, who was pregnant at the time of her arrest, claimed officers never read her Miranda rights to her before being questioned by detectives. Cunningham also said her 8th Amendment right was violated by “excessive sentencing” imposed on her. She said that she had been on psychiatric medications over a long period of time and was not being monitored by a doctor or mental health professional while in the McHenry County Jail. She also claimed to have suffered hallucinations while in jail on the prescribed medications, which caused “severe side effects,” during her pregnancy and after. Cunningham gave birth to a child while in the McHenry County Jail in May 2019. Cunningham said in the petition that she suffered from postpartum psychosis at the time she killed AJ, who was 5 years old, but that her attorney did not present any evidence to the court.  “Defendant believed that she was possessed and that her son was possessed. Defendant was seeing demons and hearing voices,” Cunningham said, referring to the period of time around when she killed AJ. “Defendant went to her priest, chaplain and co-parent and asked for help with this matter,” she said. Cunningham also told her priest, chaplain and co-parent “that she needed an exorcism.” “The co-parent of her children was there through the whole experience that the defendant had with the demons she was hearing and seeing,” Cunningham said. A hearing regarding her post-conviction petition has been scheduled in McHenry County court for June 1. Cunningham has been held in the Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln, Illinois since August 4, 2020. Records show she is expected to be released on April 24, 2054. She entered the prison with over a year of credit for time served in the McHenry County jail awaiting trial. Cunningham was sentenced to 35 years in prison on July 17, 2020, by McHenry County Judge Robert Wilbrandt. She pleaded guilty in December 2019 to first-degree murder. McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally began Cunningham’s sentencing hearing by reading statements of fact to the court from witness accounts. A Crystal Lake police officer and a Northwestern emergency room doctor both testified regarding a large bruise found on AJ Freund’s hip in December 2018. Several other people were called to the stand throughout the hearing.  Dr. Mark Witeck, who is a forensic pathologist, described his findings during an autopsy on AJ on April 25, 2019. Witeck said that the boy had abrasions and contusions covering his entire body. He had a swollen brain, which ultimately caused his death, and broken ribs. AJ’s brain was crushed into the skull to the point that it shut the rest of his body down, Witeck said. Prosecutors had said that AJ died at some point in the evening of April 14, 2019, after Cunningham had beaten AJ and placed him in a cold shower. AJ was put to bed and later found dead, prosecutors said. Freund Sr. put AJ’s remains in a large plastic tote in the basement and days later buried the remains in a rural area outside of Woodstock. A mental health expert said that he had met with Cunningham several times and determined that she has Cluster B personality disorder. He said that Cunningham suffered rape and abuse at a young age, and has extreme rage and attachment issues. Kenneally gave a closing statement during Cunningham’s sentencing hearing, saying, “The real harm, the real injury caused by AJ's death is limitless. AJ is irreplaceable. Nothing that we can do will bring him back.” Kenneally said “this wasn’t a quiet, peaceful death” before describing how Cunningham beat the boy with a showerhead while screaming in the boy’s face.  “She hasn’t been sitting here crying for AJ, she has been sitting her crying for herself,” he said. Kenneally pleaded to the judge for the maximum sentence — 60 years. Cunningham read a prepared statement at the end of the sentencing hearing. “I have vowed to take this tragedy that I created and help whoever I can possibly help. I am a child of God. I am a loving, kind, passionate woman who has feelings and loves deeply. I’m human,” she said. “As I stand here with all the hurt and pain I caused, I beg for forgiveness. Ask for compassion, love and mercy. My heart and mind failed me and my loved ones, and unfortunately, I cannot go back and change that,” Cunningham added. AJ’s father, Andrew Freund Sr., was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in AJ’s murder after accepting a plea deal to lesser charges in September 2020. He pleaded guilty to aggravated battery to a child, a Class X felony, involuntary manslaughter, a Class 3 felony, and concealing a homicidal death, a Class 3 felony. |
| Over $9,000 raised for family who lost their belongings, bird in house fire in Richmond Posted: 01 Apr 2022 08:41 AM PDT    Over $9,000 has been raised within a day for a family who was displaced from their Richmond home after a fire destroyed their belongings and killed their pet bird. The Richmond Township Fire Protection District responded around 5:31 a.m. Thursday to the 9200 block of Glacier Ridge Drive in Richmond for a report of a structure fire. Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke coming from a single-story residence, according to Richmond Township Fire Protection District Spokesman Alex Vucha. Firefighters quickly deployed hose lines while simultaneously setting up rural water operations and ladder truck operations, Vucha said.  Command staff activated the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) to the box alarm level to bring additional manpower and water resources to the scene. The fire quickly spread into the attic space and into the adjacent bedrooms. Vucha said firefighters used a technique called “vertical ventilation” to cut a hole in the roof to allow smoke to escape. The fire was considered extinguished within 45 minutes.  Firefighters were able to isolate the fire to one side of the home. The home was deemed uninhabitable. One adult was evaluated by paramedics at the scene for smoke inhalation but was not transported to the hospital. No other injuries were reported. Vucha said the fire is believed to have begun in the basement and extended to the main floor. The fire is not believed to be suspicious in nature but remains under investigation by the Richmond Township Fire Protection District.  Ringwood resident Melissa Diedrich created a GoFundMe account Thursday for the Koop family. The mother, Cortnee, and kids were out of town, Diedrich said. The father, Brandon, along with the family’s dog and cat were able to evacuate. Their pet bird died in the fire and their belongings were also lost. “The road ahead is unknown, but above all else, they are very grateful they are safe. Please consider helping the Koops as they navigate the weeks and months ahead. They appreciate your support, prayers, and kind words more than you know,” Diedrich said. |
| Man allegedly threatened to smash woman’s head with crowbar during home invasion in Crystal Lake Posted: 31 Mar 2022 05:16 PM PDT   A Woodstock man is facing charges after he allegedly threatened to smash a woman’s head with a crowbar during a home invasion in Crystal Lake Thursday morning. The incident happened around 2 a.m. Thursday in the 700 block of Silk Oak Lane in Crystal Lake, according to a criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court. The suspect, Joseph D. Gibson, 29, broke into a residence while armed with a crowbar, the complaint said. Gibson, of the 11800 block of Lucas Road in Woodstock, threatened the “imminent use of force” against a woman inside the residence, the complaint said. The complaint said that Gibson threatened to smash the victim’s skull and pointed the crowbar at the victim. During the home invasion, Gibson damaged a stair railing inside the residence. Crystal Lake police officers arrested Gibson and transported him to the McHenry County Jail. Gibson was charged with home invasion, residential burglary, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, criminal trespass to residence and criminal damage to property. McHenry County Judge Mark Gerhardt ordered Gibson held on a $150,000 bond. He would need to post 10% cash in order to be released. Gerhardt also ordered Gibson to have no contact with the victim and surrender all firearms to police should he be released on bond. Gibson is scheduled to appear in court again on Monday for a hearing on a motion to reduce bond. |
| Woman dies following three-vehicle crash on Interstate 94 near Deerfield Posted: 31 Mar 2022 02:49 PM PDT    A woman died after she suffered life-threatening injuries in a crash involving two trucks and a car on Interstate 94 in Deerfield Thursday afternoon. The Illinois State Police, Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District and Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Protection District responded around 2:05 p.m. Thursday to Interstate 94 at mile marker 24. The crash involved three vehicles in the westbound lanes of Interstate 94 north of Deerfield Road, according to the Illinois State Police. The crash appeared to involve a passenger car, a semi-tractor-trailer truck and another truck, according to a witness. District 15 troopers found a victim with life-threatening injuries.  Paramedics transported the woman to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office said the woman was pronounced dead while being transported to the hospital. Troopers and Illinois Tollway HELP Trucks shut down the left two lanes of Interstate 94 westbound as emergency crews responded to the scene. No one else involved in the crash was injured. The lanes remained closed late Thursday afternoon as state police continued investigating the incident. State police said additional information was not immediately available. |
| 1 victim suffers smoke inhalation after fire leaves home uninhabitable in Richmond Posted: 31 Mar 2022 01:24 PM PDT   One person suffered smoke inhalation after escaping from a fire that quickly spread throughout a Richmond home and left it uninhabitable Thursday morning. The Richmond Township Fire Protection District responded around 5:31 a.m. Thursday to the 9200 block of Glacier Ridge Drive in Richmond for a report of a structure fire. Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke coming from a single-story residence, according to Richmond Township Fire Protection District Spokesman Alex Vucha. Firefighters quickly deployed hose lines while simultaneously setting up rural water operations and ladder truck operations, Vucha said. Command staff activated the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) to the box alarm level to bring additional manpower and water resources to the scene. The fire quickly spread into the attic space and into the adjacent bedrooms. Vucha said firefighters used a technique called “vertical ventilation” to cut a hole in the roof to allow smoke to escape. The fire was considered extinguished within 45 minutes. Firefighters were able to isolate the fire to one side of the home, preventing a total loss of personal items. The home has been deemed uninhabitable. One adult was evaluated by paramedics at the scene for smoke inhalation but was not transported to the hospital. No other injuries were reported. Vucha said the fire is believed to have begun in the basement and extended to the main floor. The fire is not believed to be suspicious in nature but remains under investigation by the Richmond Township Fire Protection District. |
| 32 years in prison for Crystal Lake man who sexually assaulted child, video recorded it Posted: 31 Mar 2022 11:50 AM PDT   A Crystal Lake man has been sentenced to 32 years in prison for sexually assaulting a child and filming it nearly a dozen times, court documents show. Courtney T. Stephens, 41, of the 800 block of Eletson Drive in Crystal Lake, was charged with 11 counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and 14 counts of producing child pornography. A 25-count criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court said that Stephens possessed a video in December 2019 of a girl under the age of 13 who was undressed and in a lewd manner. Stephens also allegedly possessed a video of a girl under the age of 13 and a boy, approximately 5 years old, who were engaged in “several sex acts,” the complaint said. On April 2, 2020, Stephens sexually assaulted a female juvenile, who is a family member of his, the complaint said. He filmed the assault and saved it on an electronic device. The criminal complaint said that Stephens sexually assaulted the girl and filmed it on ten additional occasions throughout 2020. The Crystal Lake Police Department arrested Stephens in December 2020 after an arrest warrant had been issued for him. Stephens has been held in the McHenry County Jail on a $575,000 bond since his arrest. On Thursday, Stephens pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, a Class X felony, in exchange for all of his other charges being dismissed. McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge approved the plea deal and sentenced Stephens to 16 years in prison for each of the two counts. Under truth-in-sentencing guidelines, Stephens must serve 85% of his sentence. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life. |
| Chicago man pleads guilty to shooting, killing father of 5 after rear-end crash in Waukegan Posted: 31 Mar 2022 10:23 AM PDT    A Chicago man faces up to life in prison after pleading guilty to shooting and killing a father of five following a minor car accident in Waukegan. Sheldon L. Brown, 34, of Chicago, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in October 2020. Brown on Friday pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder in exchange for his other two counts being dismissed. The charges stem from a shooting that occurred around 11:50 p.m. October 9, 2020, near 8th Street and Jackson Street in Waukegan. The Waukegan Police Department said at the time that they responded to a call of shots fired in the area. Officers arrived and found a male victim, identified as Dwayne Young, 38, of Beach Park, lying in the street with a gunshot wound next to a white SUV. Paramedics from the Waukegan Fire Department arrived at the scene and transported Young to an area hospital where he died. Detectives were able to identify Brown as the suspect through witnesses and the community. Brown later confessed to detectives in a videotaped statement, prosecutors said. Detectives said that the shooting was a result of a road rage incident.  Young accidentally rear-ended Brown’s maroon sedan, police said, adding that the two men did not know each other. Prosecutors said that Brown exited his car brandishing a handgun and approached Young, who was unarmed and still seated in his car. Brown fired several times into Young’s car, hitting the victim, who was a father of five kids, prosecutors said. Officers arrested Brown the next day and found him in possession of a handgun. “This offender, in a fit of road rage, decided to kill Mr. Young. While the family cannot be made whole – they have suffered immeasurably – they are glad Brown will face the consequences of his actions,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said. “Our justice system will do everything it can to continue to assist this family and to ensure that this offender never harms anyone again,” Rinehart said. Rinehart thanked Assistant State's Attorneys Dan Lenzini and Russell Caskey and victim witness coordinator Jenna Melloy for their work on the case. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for April 28 in front of Lake County Judge George Strickland. Brown faces a minimum sentence of 45 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. The state’s attorney’s office said that Brown received no reduction in his sentencing range in exchange for his guilty plea. Brown has been held in the Lake County Jail on a $3 million bond since his arrest. |
| Man charged with bringing pills, marijuana into McHenry County Jail in Woodstock Posted: 31 Mar 2022 08:45 AM PDT   A Port Barrington man has been charged with bringing marijuana, pills and other drugs into the McHenry County Jail in Woodstock, court documents show. Michael R. Schlaffer, 32, of the 600 block of Camden Lane in Port Barrington, was charged with two counts of bringing a controlled substance into a penal institution as Class 2 and 3 felonies. A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court alleges that Schlaffer brought multiple drugs into the McHenry County Jail in Woodstock on March 16. The drugs included six capsules of Pregabalin, five buprenorphine and naloxone sublingual films, four Alprazolam pills and a small amount of cannabis, according to the complaint. Court records show Schlaffer also has a pending case for aggravated battery to a police officer, criminal damage to property and battery. In that incident, Schlaffer allegedly pushed a man into a glass door at a bar in Island Lake and kicked a woman in the head. Schlaffer also allegedly spit in a correctional officer’s face when he was taken to the jail, court documents show. Schlaffer remains held in the McHenry County Jail for his latest case on a $40,000 bond. He would have to post $4,000 cash in order to be released. Schlaffer is scheduled to appear in court again on April 8. |
| Posted: 30 Mar 2022 04:55 PM PDT   State police are remembering Trooper Gerald Ellis, who was killed three years ago today when he used his squad car to hit a wrong-way drunk driver, saving a family traveling in a nearby car on I-94. Ellis was on duty around 3:25 a.m. March 30, 2019, traveling home in his squad car on westbound Interstate 94 near mile marker 16.75 in Green Oaks, according to Illinois State Police. A wrong-way driver was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes. Ellis saw the vehicle, which was being driven by Dan Davies, 44, of Calumet City, traveling the wrong way. Ellis moved his squad car into the lane Davies was traveling in order to block the car from hitting anyone else. Trooper Ellis crashed head-on with the wrong-way driver and was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where he was later pronounced dead. Davies, who was under the influence of alcohol, also died in the crash. “Trooper Gerald Ellis you are my HERO. This officer paid the ultimate sacrifice early this morning and saved my daughter's life,” Carrie Kay said in a social media post last year. “She was traveling home from Washington D.C. with a family she babysits for. From what we were told Trooper Ellis was directly ahead of them two lanes over and moved his squad car into their lane to block a wrong way driver on interstate I-94 in Illinois from hitting the car she was in,” Kay said. “Thank you God and Officer Ellis for letting her and the others in that car come back home to us. We are so ever grateful to you,” Kay added. Trooper Ellis was an 11-year veteran of the Illinois State Police District 15 in Downers Grove. He was also a veteran of the United States Military. He left behind a wife, two children, his parents and his brother. A half-mile stretch of highway on Interstate 94 from mile marker 16.5 to 17 in Green Oaks was officially dedicated as Trooper Gerald W. Ellis Memorial Highway in October 2019. In December 2020, a non-profit organization paid off the home mortgage for the Ellis family. Stacy Ellis, the wife of Trooper Gerald "Jerry" Ellis, said in December 2020 she was grateful that the Tunnel to Towers Foundation is there to assist grieving families. "Jerry always made sure our family was safe and all our needs were met. It feels that way even after his death. It's a reminder of the man Jerry was and the career he chose,” Stacy Ellis said. “Jerry loved his job, it was his second family. This foundation is an extension of this family. A reminder that he will always be remembered and loved,” she added. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation paid off Stacy Ellis’s mortgage in full. Stacy Ellis said their home represents that he “had made it.” Jerry Ellis grew up in poverty and owning his own home was his dream. “He finished the basement with my dad, he built the deck with his friends, he remodeled the bathrooms on his own and we painted each room together,” she said. “This program will allow me to continue to raise the girls in the home he built.” |
| Jury convicts McHenry man of providing fentanyl-laced heroin that caused his sister’s death Posted: 30 Mar 2022 02:06 PM PDT   A McHenry man was convicted of drug-induced homicide on Wednesday for providing heroin laced with fentanyl to his sister, causing her overdose death. Christopher Crimaldi, 45, of the 1900 block of North Orleans Street in McHenry, was charged with 13 counts of drug-induced homicide and three counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance. A trial concluded Wednesday and the jury convicted Crimaldi on two counts of drug-induced homicide, a Class X felony, and two counts of delivery of a controlled substance. Crimaldi obtained crack cocaine and heroin, which was laced with fentanyl, for a family member on August 31, 2018, according to prosecutors. Police said the family member was the man’s sister, Heather Crimaldi, 45, of Freeport. The McHenry Police Department found the woman unresponsive from a drug overdose in Christopher Crimaldi’s apartment on August 31, 2018. Prosecutors said that Heather Crimaldi smoked the crack cocaine and snorted some of the heroin mixed with fentanyl shortly before she died. An autopsy confirmed the woman had cocaine, heroin and fentanyl in her system. Prosecutors said that Christopher Crimaldi had arranged for the purchase of the drugs and provided them to his sister. A police investigation showed that Christopher Crimaldi purchased the drugs from William C. Anderson, 31, of Ingleside. Anderson had at least four prior drug convictions, two in Lake County and two in Cook County. Anderson pleaded guilty in March 2021 to one count of drug-induced homicide. He was sentenced to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Crimaldi is scheduled to be sentenced by McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge on June 10. |
| City fines Waukegan bar, allows it to reopen following multiple shootings, fights Posted: 30 Mar 2022 12:28 PM PDT    The City of Waukegan has allowed a bar in downtown Waukegan to reopen after fining them following a slew of incidents in February that included shootings and fights. The city on February 19 ordered the closure of 17 North, which operates as Ibiza Bar and Grill at 17 North Genesee Street in Waukegan. According to an order posted at the front of the business, the establishment was ordered to not operate for an initial seven days. The order was later extended. The city said in the order that they determined the business constituted “an immediate threat to the welfare of the city and its residents.” City officials cited a number of incidents that have occurred at the business in February. An employee reported to police on February 6 that his car and the front of the business had been struck by gunfire. Less than a week later on February 12, a patron of the business was shot in the leg on Genesee Street after a fight occurred inside Ibiza. A suspect was charged in connection with the shooting. A large fight occurred in the early morning hours on February 19 inside Ibiza that required the response of the Waukegan Police Department. A patron pulled a gun and had to be physically restrained by Waukegan police officers during the incident, the closure notice said. Later that same morning, two intoxicated minors left Ibiza in a car and struck a Waukegan Police Department squad car at the intersection of Genesee Street and Madison Street. The driver was charged with driving under the influence and other traffic offenses. An administrative hearing was held on March 1. The hearing officer issued a fine to the business, according to a city spokesperson. The spokesperson said that the hearing officer also required that the security officers hired at Ibiza Bar and Grill be professionally trained. The establishment reopened on Friday. |
| Police find convicted felon with 1,000 pills, loaded handgun during traffic stop in Zion Posted: 30 Mar 2022 10:47 AM PDT   Police officers arrested a Beach Park man, who is a convicted felon, on Sunday after they found him with a loaded gun and 1,000 pills, along with other drugs. A Zion Police Department officer was on patrol around 4:30 p.m. Sunday and stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation. The driver was identified as Willie White Jr., 32, of Beach Park. Officers searched the vehicle and located a loaded .40 caliber Glock handgun with a second loaded magazine, the police department said. Officers also located approximately 1,000 pills containing a controlled substance. Zion Police Department Lt. Christopher Sweeting said the substance has been sent for lab testing. It was not immediately known what the substance in the pills was. Seven grams of individually packaged crack cocaine and just under 100 grams of cannabis were also located in White’s possession. White was cited for the traffic violation — driving with an obstructed driver’s view — and charged with numerous felonies. He was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. The most serious charge, unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, is a Class X felony. White appeared in bond court on Monday and a Lake County judge ordered him held on a $350,000 bond. White remains held in the Lake County Jail as of Wednesday and would need to post $35,000 cash in order to be released. |
| 2 spa employees charged for offering sex in exchange for money to undercover agents in Cary Posted: 30 Mar 2022 09:05 AM PDT   Two employees at two different spas in Cary were charged after they allegedly offered sex acts to undercover agents in exchange for money, authorities said. The McHenry County Human Trafficking Task Force, which is coordinated through the McHenry County State's Attorney's Office, conducted operations at four spa locations in Cary, according to Cary Police Department Deputy Chief Scott Naydenoff. The operations were conducted on March 4 involving undercover law enforcement officers. During the operation, undercover law enforcement officers received standard massage services at the locations. Naydenoff said the officers were also offered sexual acts in exchange for money at two of the locations — Anytime Spa at 188 Northwest Highway and Aroma 8 Spa at 46 Crystal Street. After the operation on March 4, investigators obtained search warrants for Anytime Spa and Aroma 8 Spa. The second phase of the operation was conducted on March 23 involving only the two establishments at which undercover law enforcement officers were solicited during the March 4 operation, Naydenoff said. Investigators served the search warrants at both locations and detained the individuals found at each location. No charges were filed against any employees found on location at Anytime Spa on March 23. Officers were able to positively identify the employee at Anytime Spa who offered to perform a sex act in exchange for money during the March 4 operation, Naydenoff said. Court records show the woman, identified as Otgontuul Davaa, 48, of Des Plaines, was charged with solicitation of a sexual act, a Class A misdemeanor. She is still currently wanted. Two employees at Aroma 8 Spa were charged on March 23. One of them, identified as Jishuan Li, 54, of Flushing, New York, was charged with solicitation of a sexual act, a Class A misdemeanor. The other was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor. Police said they notified the Village of Cary Code Enforcement Section of the violations since the village municipal code prohibits these types of activities at licensed massage establishments. The Cary Police Department, Crystal Lake Police Department, Lake in the Hills Police Department, Spring Grove Police Department, Huntley Police Department, Woodstock Police Department, Downers Grove Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security were involved in the operations. |
| Posted: 30 Mar 2022 07:27 AM PDT    A Waukegan man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for stabbing and brutally beating a woman in Waukegan — leaving her in a coma — after she turned down his romantic advances. Varghese Philip, 54, of Waukegan, was found guilty in October of two counts of attempted murder and one count of aggravated battery. The attack occurred on June 21, 2018, in the parking lot of an apartment complex near Sunset Road and Golf Road in Waukegan. The female victim lived at the apartment complex at the time. Prosecutors said the woman had declined a request to see Philip, who was married. Philip became increasingly agitated and sought her out, prosecutors said. According to Assistant State’s Attorneys Scott Hoffert and Lauren Kalcheim Rothenberg, as well as trial testimony, Philip approached the woman in the parking lot and stabbed her in the head with a knife. The woman fell to the ground and Philip then kicked and stomped the victim’s head as she lost consciousness. The attack left the Waukegan woman in a temporary coma with a traumatic brain injury that required months of rehabilitation and still affects her life today, prosecutors said. Philip was identified by witnesses and arrested by police. Lake County Judge George Strickland revoked bond for Philip after the verdict was read in October. On Tuesday, Strickland sentenced Philip to 16 years in prison for the incident, calling it a “cold-blooded attack,” the Chicago Tribune reported. During the sentencing hearing, Philip pleaded with the judge, “Please, please, sir,” before Strickland ordered him to be silent, the Tribune reported. Hoffert read a victim impact statement before Philip was sentenced. The victim still suffers headaches and numbness from the brain injuries she suffered in the attack, according to the statement. The woman, who is part of a community of immigrants from India, is unable to work and other emigres have avoided her. Philip said during the trial that the victim started the altercation. He said that he does not remember attacking the woman, the Tribune reported. Philip had no prior criminal record and suffered domestic abuse from his father, Strickland said. Philip, who faced a sentencing range of six to 30 years, will serve his sentence at 85% based on truth-in-sentencing guidelines. Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said after the guilty verdict in October that his entire office stands with the "courageous survivor." |
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