Lake and McHenry County Scanner |
- Countryside “Firefighter Tony” receives award for his work in educating students on fire safety
- North Chicago man found with over 900 grams of cocaine during drug bust, police say
- Woodstock man charged with calling in bomb threat that prompted evacuation of over 1,000 employees
- Medical examiner rules McHenry man died by setting himself on fire after attempted murder of woman in McHenry
- Student made weapon threat towards middle school in Waukegan, bullet found on campus in same week
- Detectives spot, arrest car burglary suspect who had stolen items in his backpack in Zion
| Countryside “Firefighter Tony” receives award for his work in educating students on fire safety Posted: 21 May 2022 05:24 PM PDT    The Countryside Fire Protection District’s fire and life safety director, who is known as “Firefighter Tony,” was awarded by the state fire marshal for his education work with children. Fire and Life Safety Director Tony Rodkey of the Countryside Fire Protection District received the Fire & Life Safety Award on May 10. Rodkey was presented the award by the Illinois State Fire Marshal Matt Perez in Springfield. The Fire and Life Safety Award is presented to recognize the “extraordinary efforts in furtherance of fire prevention and life safety” by fire departments, firefighters and staff. Rodkey, also known by the community as “Firefighter Tony,” was accompanied in Springfield by Countryside Fire Chief Chuck Smith for the presentation of the prestigious award. The presentation took place during the 29th Annual Illinois Fallen Firefighter Memorial and Firefighting Medal of Honor Awards Ceremony. Rodkey was nominated by educators who have seen first-hand the connection Firefighter Tony has with the students of the five different school districts that Countryside serves, Smith said. The Countryside Fire Protection District covers Vernon Hills and Indian Creek along with parts of Mundelein, Hawthorn Woods, Long Grove and Kildeer. “We are so proud of the work that Tony does within our schools and throughout the community,” Smith said. “There is no way to measure the number of fires and injuries Tony has prevented through his tireless community risk reduction efforts,” he added. |
| North Chicago man found with over 900 grams of cocaine during drug bust, police say Posted: 21 May 2022 04:19 PM PDT   A North Chicago man has been released on a $500,000 bond after detectives found him in possession of a large amount of cocaine during an investigation. Shaquille S. Jones, 29, of the 2300 block of North Wallace Avenue in North Chicago, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 1 felony, and unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a Class X felony. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Group recently developed information that Jones was in possession of a large amount of cocaine. Lake County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ari Briskman said that the investigation resulted in over 900 grams of a substance containing cocaine being seized from Jones. Detectives with the Special Investigations Group obtained an arrest warrant for Jones on May 9. Detectives arrested Jones without incident in the 2300 block of North Wallace Avenue in North Chicago on May 13, Briskman said. Jones was transported to the Lake County Jail and ordered held on a $500,000 bond. Jones was released from the jail this week after posting 10% of his $500,000 bond, court records show. An arraignment hearing is scheduled for Monday. |
| Woodstock man charged with calling in bomb threat that prompted evacuation of over 1,000 employees Posted: 21 May 2022 02:49 PM PDT   A Woodstock man has been charged with calling in a bomb threat to a national real estate company that prompted the evacuation of over 1,000 employees, police said. Patrick S. Bangeman, 75, of the 300 block of Railroad Street in Woodstock, was charged with transmitting a false bomb threat, a Class 3 felony. Woodstock Police Chief John Lieb told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that an individual, later identified as Bangeman, called Move Inc., which operates the listing site Realtor.com. Bangeman told the call taker on March 28 that a bomb was in their facility and would go off in the next 25 minutes, Lieb said. The company has call centers across the United States. The man did not identify which facility the alleged bomb was at. Lieb said the company took the threat seriously and evacuated nine offices in five different states. The evacuation affected over 1,000 employees. The company notified the Woodstock Police Department after learning the call originated out of the Woodstock area. Detectives began investigating and evidence led them to Bangeman, Lieb said. A warrant was obtained on Tuesday and executed on Wednesday. Officers took Bangeman into custody and transported him to the McHenry County Jail. A judge initially ordered Bangeman held on a $50,000 bond but his public defender filed a motion requesting a lower bond, court records show. Bangeman was released from jail on Friday after McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis allowed him to be released on a personal recognizance bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 10. |
| Posted: 21 May 2022 12:57 PM PDT    The medical examiner has ruled that a man died by setting himself on fire after allegedly trying to kill a woman in McHenry earlier this month. The McHenry Police Department received a call for a report of a domestic dispute around 5:30 a.m. on May 6 in the 3800 block of West Main Street in McHenry. Officers arrived to find a detached garage on the property that was on fire. The McHenry Township Fire Protection District responded to the scene and extinguished the garage fire. A preliminary investigation was conducted and officers learned two of the property's residents, a 44-year-old woman and a 51-year-old man, had been involved in a physical altercation, McHenry police said in a statement.  The female suffered a head wound and the man, identified as Michael A. Pica, suffered extensive burns on his body. Pica and the woman were both transported by ambulance to Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital. The woman was later transferred to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with non-life-threatening injuries. Pica was also transferred to Advocate Condell Medical Center and later to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood with life-threatening injuries, police said. A review of the incident and evidence was conducted and the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office approved multiple charges against Pica.  He was charged with attempted murder, aggravated domestic battery, arson, two counts of aggravated battery and domestic battery. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said that Pica was pronounced dead at Loyola University Medical Center just after 4 a.m. on May 7. The medical examiner’s office recently ruled Pica’s manner of death as a suicide caused by self-immolation. Court records show Pica was charged in October 2020 with cutting a woman’s neck with a knife in McHenry. It was not clear if the victim in that case was the same as the one in the latest incident involving him. The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal is assisting the McHenry Police Department and McHenry Township Fire Protection District in the investigation. |
| Student made weapon threat towards middle school in Waukegan, bullet found on campus in same week Posted: 21 May 2022 10:16 AM PDT    School officials say a student made a threat involving a weapon toward a middle school in Waukegan and a bullet was found on school grounds in unrelated incidents earlier this week. Miguel Juarez Middle School Principal Nelson Campos said in a letter to parents that extra safety precautions have been put into place for the remainder of the school year following two incidents that occurred on Wednesday. A student informed school officials Wednesday morning of an online video that purportedly showed a classmate with a weapon making threats related to Juarez Middle School. Police were immediately contacted to investigate and the student in question was identified, Campos said. It was determined that the weapon in the video was a toy and the threat was determined to not be credible. After dismissal that same day, a staff member found a bullet on the school grounds. Campos said this was a second, unrelated incident to the earlier threat. Police were again notified and began an investigation. “We are sharing this information in the spirit of transparency, and to dispel any rumors you may have heard about these incidents,” Campos said. “We thank students for bringing this initial matter to our attention, and urge all students to immediately report any situations they may encounter at school, as well as away from school, which they consider to be suspicious, or unsafe,” he added. The letter asked parents to assist the school by continuing to monitor their children's online activity and social media presence. Campos also said in the letter that any weapons, look-alike weapons and all other prohibited items are prohibited from school grounds, buses and bus stops. Extra safety measures will be in place, including searches and potentially extra safety staff, until the last day of school this year, which is this coming Tuesday. “We are working to ensure that these safety measures have a minimal impact on the learning environment. Thank you for your time, and please know that your child's safety remains a top priority at Juarez,” Campos said. |
| Detectives spot, arrest car burglary suspect who had stolen items in his backpack in Zion Posted: 21 May 2022 08:14 AM PDT   Detectives on a detail spotted and arrested a 19-year-old man who they say was actively burglarizing multiple cars in Zion and had stolen belongings in his possession. Zion Police Department detectives were working a stolen motor vehicle detail on the west side of Zion around 3:30 a.m. on May 7. Detectives noticed a suspicious subject walking near a tree line. The subject was dressed in all black wearing white latex gloves and carrying two backpacks. When the detectives approached the subject, he discarded one of the backpacks, Zion police said in a statement. The detectives immediately recognized the subject from a recent firearms-related case and knew that he was several miles from where he resides. Zion police said the backpack that the man discarded was checked and found to contain multiple electronic items, credit cards, checkbooks, loose coins and small denomination currency. Detectives located multiple vehicles in the neighborhood that had recently been burglarized and were able to match several of the items from the backpack to the vehicles that had been broken into. Surveillance video from the area confirmed that the man was going from vehicle to vehicle in the neighborhood looking for open car doors. The subject, Philip Conver Jr., 19, of the 2400 block of 27th Street in Zion, was arrested. Conver was charged with several counts of burglary. He was released from the Lake County Jail after his bond was reduced to $5,000, court records show. The Zion Police Department said they remind residents to lock their car doors at night and secure valuables inside. |
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