Lake and McHenry County Scanner

Dog dies after being rescued from fire that left two houses damaged in Zion

Posted: 10 Jun 2022 07:36 AM PDT

Multiple fire departments respond to a well-engulfed structure fire in the 2300 block of Gilboa Avenue in Zion Friday morning. | Photo: Zion Fire-Rescue Department

Officials say a dog died after being rescued from a fire that left a home engulfed in flames and damaged a second home in Zion early Friday morning.

The Zion Fire-Rescue Department and Zion Police Department responded around 3:41 a.m. Friday to the 2300 block of Gilboa Avenue in Zion for a report of a structure fire.

Zion Fire-Rescue Department Battalion Chief Eric Troy said crews arrived on the scene to find the front of the building well involved in flames.

The occupants were out of the house but they reported that a dog was still inside.

The fire also extended into the attic area of the home.

Multiple hose lines were deployed and crews had the fire under control within approximately 20 minutes, Troy said.

The missing dog was rescued but did not survive despite rescue efforts by paramedics and police officers on the scene.

Troy said the home was deemed uninhabitable due to approximately $85,000 in damage caused.

An adjacent home suffered significant heat damage from the fire.

No injuries to the residents or fire personnel were reported.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation by local fire investigators along with the Illinois Office of the State Fire Marshal, Troy said.

Firefighters from Winthrop Harbor, Beach Park, Gurnee, Pleasant Prairie and Newport assisted at the scene.

Firefighters from Libertyville and North Chicago covered calls in Zion.

Troy said it is important that families practice fire escape drills at home. “One can never know what time fire can strike.”

5 years in prison for Harvard man convicted of sexually abusing young child

Posted: 09 Jun 2022 06:28 PM PDT

Jose S. Nova-Rivera, 37, of Harvard

A Harvard man convicted of sexually abusing a girl under the age of 13 has been sentenced to five years in prison, court records show.

Jose S. Nova-Rivera, 37, of the 1000 block of 9th Street in Harvard, was charged with six counts of criminal sexual assault and four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

In a second case involving a different victim, Nova-Rivera was charged with two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault and four counts of criminal sexual assault.

The Harvard Police Department arrested Nova-Rivera on January 30, 2020, after an arrest warrant was issued for him the day prior.

A criminal complaint filed in court alleged that Nova-Rivera fondled the genitals of a female juvenile in 2015 and 2016.

In 2017 and 2018, Nova-Rivera allegedly penetrated the child using his fingers, according to the complaint.

Nova-Rivera was also accused of sexually assaulting a second child in 2017 and 2019.

Court records show that the victims were family relatives of Nova-Rivera.

One of the victims was under the age of 13 and the other was between 13-17 years old.

McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge in April found Nova-Rivera guilty of two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child, a Class 2 felony.

Nova-Rivera was found not guilty on the other charges.

Coppedge sentenced Nova-Rivera on Wednesday to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Nova-Rivera, who will be required to serve 50% of his sentence, will receive credit for over 850 days of time served in the county jail awaiting his case.

Nova-Rivera was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

Waukegan man brought someone else’s urine with him to foil probation drug test, but it tested positive for drugs, police say

Posted: 09 Jun 2022 04:48 PM PDT

Jerrold Hayes, 53, of Waukegan | Provided Photo

A Waukegan man tried bringing purchased urine, which he thought was clean, to pass his court-ordered drug test, the sheriff’s office said. The urine tested positive for cocaine.

Jerrold Hayes, 53, of the 900 block of Woodlawn Avenue in Waukegan, was charged with defrauding a drug and alcohol screening test.

Hayes was required to provide a urine sample at the Lake County Courthouse as a condition of bail for an ongoing criminal case, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.

While providing the sample on Tuesday, the drug screener saw Hayes placing urine, not from his body, in the screening container.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office Court Emergency Response Team (CERT) was requested to investigate the incident, Covelli said.

After further investigation, the CERT deputy found that Hayes purchased supposedly clean urine from an individual prior to his screening.

He believed the urine was clean but did not realize it contained cocaine, Covelli said.

Hayes was arrested and charged.

He remains held in the Lake County Jail on a $150,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

Parent charged with attacking, injuring teacher at child education center in Grayslake

Posted: 09 Jun 2022 02:44 PM PDT

Tiarra M. Douglas, 27, of Waukegan.

Felony charges have been filed against a Waukegan woman who prosecutors say attacked and injured a teacher at an education and daycare center in Grayslake.

Tiarra M. Douglas, 27, of the 1400 block of North Metropolitan Avenue in Waukegan, was charged with two counts of aggravated battery to a school employee, a Class 3 felony.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Dino Katris said during a bond hearing that Douglas wanted to press charges against a teacher at KinderCare, 790 North Lake Street in Grayslake.

Douglas claimed the teacher put her hands on her child.

However, the teacher was the one who called 911 to report that Douglas attacked her, Katris said.

Douglas had reportedly pulled up to the school and saw the teacher pull the hand of her child.

The teacher took the action to stop Douglas’ child from getting into a fight with another child, Katris said.

According to Katris, Douglas approached the teacher and said, “B—h, I do not want to see you yank my daughter’s hand.”

Douglas then allegedly grabbed the teacher by her hair and yanked her to the ground.

The teacher went to the Grayslake Victim went to Northwestern Medicine Emergency Center in Grayslake for a neck injury.

The incident occurred on April 28, court records show.

An arrest warrant was issued for Douglas on May 3 and she was arrested on Monday.

Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak on Monday ordered Douglas held on an umbrella bond of $30,000.

Douglas has since been released from the Lake County Jail after posting bond.

She is scheduled to appear in court again on July 5 for a preliminary hearing.

Foul play not suspected after body found at beach in Waukegan

Posted: 09 Jun 2022 01:46 PM PDT

File Photo – Waukegan Municipal Beach | Photo: Google Street View

Police say foul play is not suspected after a woman was found deceased at the Waukegan Municipal Beach Thursday morning in Waukegan.

Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Joe Florip said officers responded to the call around 8 a.m. Thursday.

Paramedics with the Waukegan Fire Department were also dispatched to the scene at the Waukegan Municipal Beach in the 200 block of East Sea Horse Drive.

Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton said his office was notified by police around 8:40 a.m.

The body of a female in her late 30s was located on land near the beach, Newton said.

A family member who was looking for the woman found her deceased.

Newton said that foul play is not suspected in the woman’s death. An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

Florip also said investigators do not believe the woman’s death is considered suspicious.

A cause and manner of death are pending the autopsy and toxicology results.

The case remains under investigation by the Lake County Coroner’s Office and Waukegan Police Department.

Section of Monaville Road in Lake Villa reopens after emergency repairs completed

Posted: 09 Jun 2022 11:46 AM PDT

Monaville Road just west of Cedar Lake Road in Lake Villa was reopened Tuesday after crews finished a culvert replacement. | Provided Photo

County officials say a stretch of Monaville Road in Lake Villa has reopened after crews closed the road for an emergency culvert repair almost two months ago.

The culvert is located on Monaville Road just west of Cedar Lake Road in Lake Villa.

Signs of a potential culvert failure were noticed on April 13 during a routine road inspection by Lake County Division of Transportation maintenance personnel.

The Lake County Division of Transportation closed Monaville Road to through traffic from Fairfield Road to Cedar Lake Road.

A road closure was put into place on April 13 after a culvert located on Monaville Road just west of Cedar Lake Road in Lake Villa was found to be failing during a routine inspection. | Provided Photo

A signed detour was put into place while repairs were being scheduled, officials said.

The culvert was installed in 1988 and a project had been scheduled to replace it later in 2022, the transportation division said.

The contractor has since set the new precast box culvert.

After the culvert was set, crews installed reinforcement bars, poured the concrete wall in two stages which cured over Memorial Day weekend and installed a waterproof barrier.

A road closure was put in place on Monaville Road just west of Cedar Lake Road in Lake Villa while crews replaced a failing culvert. | Provided Photo

The road has since been paved and was reopened Tuesday afternoon, the transportation division said.

Minor grading, guardrail installation and landscaping work are still in progress.

“We thank everyone for their patience while the road was closed. We also thank the contractor that worked in the rain and on weekends to keep the project moving forward,” the transportation division said on Tuesday.

Motorists are asked to watch for workers while driving in this area in the coming weeks.

25-year-old man hospitalized after being shot, driving to gas station in Round Lake Park

Posted: 09 Jun 2022 10:23 AM PDT

Police investigate after a gunshot victim was found at the Thorntons gas station, 598 East Washington Street in Round Lake Park, Wednesday evening. | Photo: Woo-Sung Shim / Lake and McHenry County Scanner

Police say a 25-year-old man was transported to the hospital by ambulance after he was shot and drove to a gas station in Round Lake Park Wednesday evening.

The Round Lake Park Police Department responded around 7:08 p.m. Wednesday to the 500 block of East Washington Street in Round Lake Park for a call of a person shot.

The victim was found in a pickup truck at a gas pump at the Thorntons on the corner of Washington Street and Hainesville Road.

Police investigate after a gunshot victim was found at the Thorntons gas station, 598 East Washington Street in Round Lake Park, Wednesday evening. | Photo: Woo-Sung Shim / Lake and McHenry County Scanner

Round Lake Park Police Chief Daniel Birch said officers found a 25‐year‐old man who had been shot.

The victim drove himself from an undisclosed location to the gas station after the shooting, Birch said.

Paramedics provided medical treatment to the man and transported him to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.

The extent of the man’s injuries was not known but he has since been stabilized at the hospital.

Police investigate after a gunshot victim was found at the Thorntons gas station, 598 East Washington Street in Round Lake Park, Wednesday evening. | Photo: Woo-Sung Shim / Lake and McHenry County Scanner

Birch said the incident is believed to be isolated and the victim was specifically targeted.

The victim is not cooperating with the investigation, Birch added.

Anyone with information related to the shooting is encouraged to contact Round Lake Park Police Department Investigations at 847‐546‐7275.

Those who wish to submit anonymous information can contact Lake County Crime Stoppers at 847-662‐2222 or visit their website at www.lakecountycrimestoppers.com.