Saturday, May 18, 2013
A lawsuit against an imprisoned preacher from Crete and an Indiana megachurch topped the week's court news.
A former megachurch preacher sentenced to 12 years in federal prison in March for carrying on a sexual relationship with a teenage member of his congregation was sued in Will County court. In addition to preacher Jack Schaap, 55, of Crete, the First Baptist Church of Hammond was named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The parents of a teenage girl Schaap had sex with while he was pastor of the First Baptist Church of Hammond filed the lawsuit. The suit identifies the parents as "John Doe and Mary Doe," and the teen as "Jane Doe." The suit gives Jane Doe's date of birth as June 27, 1995. Here's what else was going on at the area's courthouses: Check out all these stories and more on our Facebook page.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
A Caribbean music record company owner has a drug dog's lack of punctuality to thank for getting him out of a felony pot charge, but he still couldn't get his marijuana back.
Martin Scott was looking at a possible 30-year prison sentence after a police dog found pot in the trunk of his car back in September 2011. But a Cook County judge decided this week that the 41 minutes a state trooper made Scott wait for the dog to show up was too long, and ruled that the marijuana could not be used as evidence against him. Without that evidence, prosecutors decided to drop the case. Scott, 52, said he is the owner of Kingston, Jamaica, based UIM Records. He also said he obtained his marijuana legally in California and asked if he could have it back. He was refused. Scott left the Markham courthouse a happy—and free—man, and strolled away puffing on his electronic cigarette. Not too many other people written about last …
Saturday, April 20, 2013
A former Plainfield North gym teacher pleaded guilty to meeting a teen for sex. And that was just one of the things going on in court this week.
More than two years after the police caught her in a car with a half-dressed student from the high school where she was a teacher, Ashley Blumenshine copped a plea. Blumenshine, a 30-year-old former Plainfield North gym teacher, will have to do 11 days in jail. She will also spend two years on sex offender probation and 10 yeas on the Illinois sex offender registry. She tearfully apologized before she was taken into custody to start doing her time. Let's look at what else was going on in the area's courthouses this past week: Check out all these stories and more on our Facebook page.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
A New Lenox man spoke of his "horrific" ordeal in the county jail after he was arrested for a murder someone else was wanted for.
We started the week off by talking with the New Lenox man jailed for two weeks for a murder allegedly committed by someone else with the same name. Pedro Hernandez, 67, said his time in the Will County jail was "horrific," and that he's looking for a lawyer to talk to about filing a lawsuit. But Hernandez's ordeal was just one of the things going on last week. There was also: Check out all these stories and more on our Facebook page.
A fundraiser will be held April 27 in Chicago Ridge to help the son of Thomas Mastro, the Tinley Park resident who was shot and killed March 21. Find out more about the event.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Joe Vince
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Saturday, April 6
The family of the victim of last month's fatal 7-Eleven shooting in Tinley Park is planning a benefit to help create a college fund for the slain 24-year-old's young son. READ: Tinley Park Man Fatally Shot in Argument in Store Parking Lot Tom & Anthony's Benefit—named after the victim, Thomas Mastro, and his 4-year-old son, Anthony—will be April 27 at Jack Desmond’s Irish Pub in Chicago Ridge, according to a flyer for the event emailed to Patch by Mastro's father, Perry. Donations for Anthony's fund will be taken at the door, and food and a cash bar will be available for guests. "We are asking all friends and family of Tom Mastro to gather with us as we will be raising funds for his son Anthony’s college education," the flyer stated. READ…
41.704339
-87.779374
10339 Ridgeland Ave, Chicago Ridge, IL
/articles/benefit-to-create-college-fund-for-son-of-fatal-7-eleven-shooting-victim
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Thursday, April 4, 2013
The lawyer for a teen charged with murder in connection with the brutal slaying of a friend's parents tried and failed to have the case dismissed.
The lawyer for the youngest of four pals charged with the brutal murder of a Palos couple failed to convince a judge to dismiss the case against his client. Joel Brodsky, the attorney for 18-year-old Mohammad Salahat, argued during a Thursday morning hearing at the Bridgeview courthouse that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that juveniles cannot be sentenced to life in prison without parole. Salahat was 16—legally a juvenile—when he was charged as an adult with the September 2011 murders of John and Maria Granat. If convicted of the double murder, Salahat faces a sentence of life in prison, Brodsky said, and therefore the case against him must be dismissed. Assistant State's Attorney Donna Norton called Brodsky's argument "both irrational and …
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
The alleged triggerman jailed in connection with last week's 7-Eleven parking lot murder appeared at the Bridgeview courthouse and was sent back to jail without a bond.
The Markham teen charged with gunning down a man he met through Craigslist to barter electronic equipment appeared at the Bridgeview courthouse Tuesday morning and was sent back to jail without a bond. READ: Markham Teen Charged With Murder in 7-Eleven Shooting Christopher Dyson, 18, faces murder and armed robbery charges in connection with Thursday's fatal shooting of 24-year-old Thomas Mastro of Tinley Park. Dyson and Mastro reportedly met outside a Tinley Park 7-Eleven so Dyson could trade his iPhone for Mastro's Playstation 3 and Playstation Vita. The deal reportedly was set up after Mastro posted an ad on Craigslist. READ: Tinley Park Man Fatally Shot in Argument in Store Parking Lot Dyson tried to rip Mastro off, then pulled a gun …
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Christopher J. Dyson, 18, also faces an armed robbery charge connected to Thursday's shooting that left a Tinley Park man dead. He is being held without bail.
Christopher J. Dyson, 18, of Markham, was charged Saturday with murder and armed robbery in connection with Thursday's fatal shooting in a Tinley Park 7-Eleven parking lot, according to a Village of Tinley Park press release. He is being held without bail, and his next court date will be Tuesday, March 26, at the Bridgeview courthouse, a village spokesman said Saturday. The case is still under investigation, according to the press release. READ: Check Out the Full Story of the Shooting for More Details Dyson tried to rob Thomas Mastro, 24, outside the convenience store before pulling a gun, shooting Mastro in the chest and then fleeing the scene north on Oak Park Avenue, police said. He was captured around 147th and Oak Park Avenue in Oak …
Saturday, March 23, 2013
A Joliet man was charged with the brutal murder of his mother, and there was plenty more going on as well.
It was bad enough last week when a Cook County man appeared in court for allegedly beating his mother, stabbing her and leaving her in a ditch. But now this week we have a Joliet man who allegedly choked his mother, stabbed her so hard with one knife the blade bent, plunged a second knife into her repeatedly and then used a baseball bat to hammer it into her her body until the handle broke, and finally dropped her in the Des Plaines River. The body of Jeanie Parker, 54, remains missing as fire department divers brave the depths of the Des Plaines and police officers scour the river bank. Parker's son, Charles McCullum, 21, has been charged with her murder and is being held on a $5 million bond. Also in court this week, there was: See all …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Lack of communication from police in Burbank caused confusion with two separate criminal incidents, including a double homicide and police chase that forced schools to go on soft lockdown.
Last Wednesday when all hell broke loose on West 83rd Place in Burbank, residents took to Facebook to find out why helicopters were hovering over the neighborhood. Sign up for the Oak Lawn Patch newsletter and follow us on Facebook. It turned out that two serious, but unrelated incidents had occurred just a few blocks away from each other on 83rd Place. On Wednesday morning, two elderly people were found murdered inside a home in the 6400 block of West 83rd Place. Most residents were unaware of the death investigation—first reported by CBS News as a murder-suicide—which wasn’t made public until Wednesday evening. Investigators from the Burbank Police Department and South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force are investigating the double …
Fester Bestertester
4:22 pm on Monday, May 20, 2013
Drunkenly driving and drunkenly lying on the street. huh. more ›