Lake and McHenry County Scanner |
- Judge sentences woman to 5 years in prison for identity theft, stealing over $10K from Woodstock bank
- Coroner identifies 27-year-old man who was found dead inside burning vehicle near Marengo
- Fundraiser started for memorial bench, scholarship in memory of missing Antioch man found dead near Libertyville
- Authorities release identity of man fatally shot while mowing his lawn in North Chicago
- Man injured during shooting that left car riddled with bullets in Waukegan
- Fire leaves house with major damage, spreads to second home in McHenry
| Posted: 03 May 2022 06:32 PM PDT   A Georgia woman was sentenced to five years in prison after she pleaded guilty to identity theft for stealing over $10,000 from a bank in Woodstock. Leah Mims, 31, of Stockbridge, Georgia, was indicted in July 2020 on four counts of forgery, a Class 3 felony, and two counts of identity theft, a Class 2 felony. In November 2019, Mims knowingly delivered numerous forged checks to the Advia Credit Union in Woodstock, a grand jury indictment said. The five checks were purported to have been made out by other people and they were in the amounts of $2,000, $2,000, $2,250, $2,000 and $1,980, totaling $10,230. Mims also used the driver’s license of one of the identity theft victims to fraudulently obtain money from the credit union, the indictment said. A judge issued an arrest warrant for Mims. Mims was arrested this past February by the Fond Du Lac County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin and transported to the McHenry County Jail. Mims pleaded guilty to one count of identity theft, a Class 2 felony, on Thursday. All other charges were dismissed by prosecutors. Mims was also indicted on additional charges of forgery and identity theft but those were also dismissed as part of her plea deal. A judge sentenced Mims to five years in prison with one year of mandatory supervised release. Mims will also be required to pay $624 in court fines and fees and $10,230 in restitution to Advia Credit Union. |
| Coroner identifies 27-year-old man who was found dead inside burning vehicle near Marengo Posted: 03 May 2022 05:14 PM PDT    The coroner’s office on Tuesday said they have identified the body of a 27-year-old man who was found in a burning vehicle near Marengo over two months ago. McHenry County Coroner Dr. Michael Rein said the subject was identified as Thomas Ciemniak, 27, of Arlington Heights. The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 1:50 a.m. on February 4 to Blissdale Road and Jackson Road in unincorporated Marengo for a motorist assist. Deputies arrived and found a vehicle fully engulfed in flames, McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Kevin Byrnes said at the time. The Marengo Fire Protection District responded and extinguished the fire. Emergency crews found a body inside the vehicle. No deputies or anyone else was injured in the incident, the sheriff’s office said. Rein said on Tuesday that the intense heat of the fire led his office to be unable to positively identify the body. Ciemniak was officially identified after a forensic odontologist assisted and DNA evidence was gathered, Rein said. A cause and manner of death have still not been released. An obituary said Ciemniak died in a “tragic car accident.” The sheriff’s office has not said if the car fire was the result of a vehicle crash or not. Ciemniak was a graduate of Rolling Meadows High School and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he obtained a degree in computer science. He had worked as a software engineer at Capital One after graduating. “He was an incredibly kind, patient and gentle person who was loved deeply by his friends and family. He made it a priority to support his loved ones when they needed him, and always showed up with joy, compassion, and playfulness. He was slow to anger or become frustrated, and was amazing at resolving conflict and peacemaking between others,” his obituary said. The incident remains under investigation by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and McHenry County Coroner’s Office. |
| Posted: 03 May 2022 02:38 PM PDT    A fundraiser has been started to fund a memorial and scholarship in memory of Antioch resident Thomas Howe, who went missing before being found dead near Libertyville earlier this year. Howe, 24, of Antioch, was reported missing to the Antioch Police Department on January 22. His body was recovered on February 15 from the Des Plaines River near Libertyville, Village of Antioch Communication Specialist Jim Moran said at the time. A preliminary autopsy performed by the Lake County Coroner’s Office indicated that Howe had signs consistent with drowning. Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Stephen Newton said at the time that no signs of foul play were found during the autopsy. Marc Schneiderman, one of Howe’s fraternity brothers at Miami University in Ohio, created a GoFundMe account on Monday. The account has already raised over $9,000 in 24 hours. Schneiderman said he will be using the money to create a memorial on campus to honor Howe, who was “not just a friend but brother, cousin, son, among other things.” Schneiderman said the memorial bench requires a $5,000 donation to the university. Howe’s family will get to choose what is said on the memorial. The additional money raised will then go towards a scholarship fund with Sigma Alpha Mu at Miami of Ohio, Schneiderman said. “This is a great way to honor Tommy.”  Howe was reported missing in January following a crash on Interstate 94 at mile marker 16.75. He left the scene on foot towards the Old School Forest Preserve near Libertyville, witnesses reported. Investigators found no indication of trauma in Howe's vehicle following the crash. Search teams on January 24 located Howe's work cell phone in the forest preserve but found no other signs of the man. In mid-February, a kayaker on the Des Plaines River between Route 60 and Rockland Road spotted a jacket along the shoreline that matched the description of Howe’s gray North Face jacket. The kayaker called police and teams consisting of multiple police canines and fire department divers conducted initial searches of the river, Moran said. Due to unfavorable river conditions, divers paused the search and resumed days later, at which time they located Howe’s body. |
| Authorities release identity of man fatally shot while mowing his lawn in North Chicago Posted: 03 May 2022 12:46 PM PDT    The coroner’s office has released the identity of a 49-year-old man who was shot and killed while he was mowing his lawn in North Chicago Monday afternoon. An autopsy showed that Alejandro Garcia, 49, of North Chicago, died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds, according to Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton. The North Chicago Police Department responded around 1:25 p.m. Monday to the 1000 block of Jackson Street in North Chicago for a report of shots fired. Officers arrived and found Garcia, who lives on the block, critically injured after being shot, according to Lake County Major Crime Task Force Spokesman Christopher Covelli.  Paramedics transported the man to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after. A preliminary investigation shows Garcia was mowing his lawn when a vehicle drove by on Jackson Street. An occupant inside the vehicle shot Garcia and fled the area, Covelli said. Investigators believe the man was specifically targeted.  The North Chicago Police Department requested the Lake County Major Crime Task Force to assist in the investigation due to the severity of the incident. Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact the North Chicago Police Department at 847-596-8700. Those who wish to leave an anonymous tip can do so by calling the Lake County Crime Stoppers at 847-662-2222 or by visiting www.lakecountycrimestoppers.com. The homicide remains under investigation by North Chicago police detectives and task force investigators. |
| Man injured during shooting that left car riddled with bullets in Waukegan Posted: 03 May 2022 10:54 AM PDT    A man in his 20s was hospitalized after he was shot during a shooting where over 20 shots were fired in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Waukegan. The Waukegan Police Department and Waukegan Fire Department responded around 3:20 p.m. Monday to the 2700 block of Westwood Drive in Waukegan for a report of a shooting. Officers found a man in his 20s who had been shot, Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Joe Florip told Lake and McHenry County Scanner. The victim told police that he was shot at by unknown suspects who were possibly in an SUV, Florip said.  Paramedics transported the man to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville. Florip said the victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries. His condition has since been stabilized. Police officers had placed more than 20 evidence markers over shell casings at the scene near a BMW SUV. The BMW appeared to have over a dozen bullet holes on the driver’s side of the vehicle. The incident remains under investigation by the Waukegan Police Department. |
| Fire leaves house with major damage, spreads to second home in McHenry Posted: 03 May 2022 08:16 AM PDT    Fire officials say a house sustained major damage in a fire that also partially extended to a second home in McHenry late Monday evening. The McHenry Township Fire Protection District and McHenry Police Department responded around 11:49 p.m. Monday to the 4200 block of Ponca Street in McHenry for a report of a structure fire. McHenry Township Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Mike Majercik said crews arrived on the scene within four minutes to find a single-family ranch home fully engulfed in flames. Crews “aggressively attacked” the fire and had it under control within 30 minutes, Majercik said.  Eight pieces of McHenry fire apparatus responded to the scene consisting of 24 firefighters. The Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department and Nunda Rural Fire Protection District also assisted at the scene. The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System was activated so that the Lake Villa, Round Lake, Cary and Spring Grove fire departments could cover calls in McHenry during the incident. There were no firefighter injuries reported and the home's sole occupant escaped without injury, Majercik said.  The house sustained major fire and smoke damage and was deemed uninhabitable. A Nissan sedan was damaged in the garage and the fire also extended slightly to the house next door, causing some damage. A damage estimate was not immediately available. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by McHenry Township Fire Protection District fire investigators. |
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