Results tagged “crime”

Exactly one year ago today, the bodies of Jennifer Hudson's mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, 57, and her brother, Jason Hudson, 29, were discovered inside their home on the South Side. Hudson's 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, was found a few days after in a car on the West Side 10 miles away from his home. All three victims had been shot to death. William Balfour, the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson's sister, Julia, was charged for the killings with first-degree murder, allegedly killing the three family members because he was upset that Julia was dating someone else. Balfour pleaded not guilty and is still in jail.

The Chicago Police Department is touting figures that show an 11 percent decrease in homicides through the first nine months of 2009 over the same period of 2008, 348 total compared to last year's nine-month total of 393. Homicides of "youth" - categorized as being between the ages of 6 and 18 years old - were down by a total of 14.5 percent. The announcement comes at a time when the city is receiving particular close scrutiny due to the highly-publicized murder of 16-year-old Derrion Albert, a visceral crime caught on tape and replayed on news programs around the world.

A Lincoln Square bar owner was found severely beaten in the alley behind his bar early Sunday morning. According to the Chicago Tribune, bar owner Robert Gonzales, 69, stayed behind at O'Lanagan's - located at 2335 W. Montrose Ave. - after closing time at 3:00 a.m. to clean up. Police found him in the alley less than two hours later after the burglar alarm at the business had been tripped. Gonzales was brought to the hospital, where he died Sunday evening after suffering severe lacerations to his head.

Valerie Booker, 38, of the 8800 block of South Loomis Street, was charged on Thursday with false impersonation of a police officer and misdemeanor name use, after she allegedly threatened her son's 15-year-old classmate near Mount Carmel High School, according to police news Affairs Officer JoAnn Taylor. The twist? Booker may be a former City of Chicago employee.

In connection to Thursday's sexual assault case in Wicker Park, a 35-year-old man was taken into questioning and released without being charged. According to police News Affair Officer, Robert Perez, who provided details to the Chicago Sun-Times, the assault took place on the 1300 block of North Wolcott Avenue just before 4 a.m. Police said that the 28-year-old woman was entering a building when her attacker allegedly grabbed her from behind, placed a knife to her neck, and said "Don't move or I'm going to kill you" Then he allegedly pulled her down the stairs to the building's basement and sexually assaulted her on the stairway, allegedly telling her that he was "going to kill her if she screamed" police said.

On the heels of the announcement last week that crime in Chicago was down in the first half of 2009 over the first half of 2008, Chicago experienced one of its most violent weekends so far this year. Weekend violence accounted for 63 shootings, one stabbing, and a total of 10 deaths. Of course, looking back at last summer's violence, the bloody start to this July is pretty pedestrian, all the more reason to be skeptical about that recent decrease claim: last year's murder tally was the highest in five years, undermining the claim that violent crime is decreasing rather than just returning to normal levels.

At the end of this year, Chicago could be short 800 cops compared to last year the police union told the Sun-Times. The shortage is attributed to vacancies, attrition rates, and Mayor Daley’s 2009 budget which has significantly slowed down hiring. Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis told the Sun-Times last week that the CPD hopes to use federal grant money to hire 150 new officers this year. In the short term Weis will manage the officer shortage by shifting officers from desk jobs, or pay officers overtime with federal grants to cover the streets this summer.

A man accused of two rapes in the Bucktown neighborhood has been arrested. Damario McNeil, 31, of Lawndale, was arrested and charged with one count of attempt first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated criminal assault and two counts of aggravated kidnapping and one count of armed robbery. The first rape occurred in February in the 2300 block of W. Moffat, very close to the Western/Milwaukee Blue Line stop. The second assault happened just a few weeks ago, a bit further from the same Blue Line stop but still in the vicinity, in the 2000 block of W. Charleston. Police think McNeil could be linked to at least two other assaults, another in February close to the Western/Milwaukee Blue Line stop and one last September close to the Damen/North Blue Line stop. [Chicago Breaking News]

A list of the nation's 25 most dangerous neighborhoods based on neighborhood statistics shows Chicago has landed four on the list, the most of all cities listed. The highest ranked Chicago neighborhood - well, more like "sections of larger neighborhoods" - on the list belongs to a part of Washington Park - State St. & Garfield - that comes in at number two overall. As the Sun-Times points out, that particular neighborhood formerly consisted of the well-documented Robert Taylor housing project.

A fight broke out at the Columbus Restaurant and Bar, 651 W. Washington Blvd, in the West Loop early this morning and police responded to find four people injured from stab wounds. One victim was listed in critical condition, another in guarded, and the other two in stable condition. The perp was also apprehended by police and hospitalized in stable conditions with minor cuts. No word from police of what led to the violent outburst. [WBBM]

A man accused of robbing at least eight banks - mostly located along the Red Line, hence the name - appears to have struck again. The bank hit this time was Charter One Bank branch at 33 W. Grand Ave., near the Grand & State Red Line stop. Police think the man uses the CTA as his getaway. In March, police offered up to $10,000 in reward for information leading to his arrest. The Red Line Robber has been described as, "a male, 30 to 35, 6 feet to 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds with a medium build and beard. He has worn sunglasses, a dark colored baseball cap and a black bomber jacket during all of his robberies." Anyone with information could and should contact the Chicago FBI at 312-421-6700.

It’s been a deadly weekend in Chicago, with seven shooting deaths in a 24 hour period. All victims were men in their 20s and 30s. The shootings took place between 6:15 a.m. Saturday and 6 a.m. on Sunday, and take place throughout the city; North, South, and West.

After someone's iPhone was snatched away from their ear, police on horseback chased and captured the subject, then arrested him and charged him with felony robbery.

A suburban motorcyclist died Saturday night when another driver, painting her fingernails behind the wheel, slammed into her stopped bike at a yellow light in Lake Zurich. According to Lake County Coroner Richard Keller, the biker, Anita Zaffke, died of chest and abdominal injuries sustained in the incident at the intersection of Route 12 and Old McHenry Road (pictured right) when a Chevrolet Impala rear ended her bike around 5:30 p.m. Zaffke was wearing a helmet, and was taken to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, where she was pronounced dead an hour later.

According to a story in the Huffington Post, the seemingly random home burglary in California of Republican Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon March 4 may have some Chicago ties - and some political ones as well.

After a spike in murders in 2008, Chicago got off to a quick start when the first murder of 2009 happened just hours into the new year at around 2 a.m. when David Garrett was shot in the head and killed. Now, almost three months later, Chicago Police have brought charges against four men for Garrett's murder. According to the Sun-Times:

Lorenzo Hall, 26, of Steger, is charged with first degree murder and aggravated battery. Forrest Smith, 26, of Mount Prospect, and Malcolm Whitehead, 19, of Rolling Meadows, are charged with first degree murder. A fourth man, Lee Foster, 25, was a passenger in the vehicle and is charged with a probation violation.

An arm wrestling match between two men took a bitter turn when the guy who lost stabbed the winner in the upper left thigh. The victim was stabbed twice.

A Little Village man bit off the tip of a paramedic's finger during a domestic dispute early Sunday morning. According to the Sun-Times, paramedics responded to a call, and discovered Jose Gutierrez, 25, beating a woman presumed to be his girlfriend. As the paramedic, who was first on the scene, attempted to intervene, Gutierrez allegedly bit through the tip of the paramedic's right thumb, breaking the bone. Responding police officers immediately arrested Gutierrez. The paramedic was taken to the University of Illinois Medical Center and treated for a bite wound and broken finger. Gutierrez was charged with domestic battery, and aggravated battery of first aid personnel. He will appear in violence court on Monday.

Randall Madison was sentenced to pay $1,400 in vetrinary bills and 10 days in jail, for beating his girlfriend's Jack Russel terrier so badly that it lost an eye. He was also placed on two years probation, ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation and serve 150 hours of community service by DuPage County Judge Jane Mitton, who said "this is a serious offense."

In a story posted on the Sun-Times site today, “Blagojevich was quite the college prankster,” the S-T has identified a number of college behaviors and misidentified them as “pranks”:

A woman was pushed into a Metra train late last night in an attempt to fight off a potential sexual assault.

A series of recent muggings at the CTA's Logan Square station has raised concern among residents and has police on the defensive. There were seven different incidents reported in a recent two-week period and now residents want to know what police are going to do about it.

Today, February 2, marks the one-year anniversary of the Lane Bryant killings, when an unknown gunman walked into the Tinley Park location of the store and shot six women in a robbery, killing five. The lone survivor was able to give police a description of the killer, but in spite of several leads (most being proved false), the killer still remains at large. The victims were Rhoda McFarland, 42, of Joliet, Jennifer L. Bishop, 34, of South Bend, Ind.; Sarah Szafranski, 22, of Oak Forest; Connie Woolfolk, 37, of Flossmoor; and Carrie Hudek Chiuso, 33, of Frankfort. To mark the anniversary, family of friends of the victims gathered at the Tinley Park Convention Center to remember the victims and celebrate their lives.

Remember Eddy Curry? Sure, you do... he's the big, soft center that Jerry Krause paired with the tall, lanky Tyson Chandler to bring the Bulls back to glory. Only his heart gave out figuratively and literally, and the Bulls traded him to the New York Knicks. Since heading to New York, Curry's had his share of off-the-court headlines. First there was the summer 2007 home invasion. And now Curry's being sued for sexual harrassment by Dave Kuchinsky, a former employee.

The trial of Tom Tuduj (pictured left), accused of stabbing his boss to death after a bad performance review, got underway this week. Gary Poter (pictured right) of Poter Construction & Development Co. was killed in May 2006 after giving Tuduj the poor review and docking him $10,000 pay.

The men convicted in September 2007 in the Operation Family Secrets mob trial now have sentencing dates. Judge James Zagel set a date of January 26 for Paul Schiro and Anthony Doyle, January 28 for Frank Calabrese, February 2 for Joseph Lombardo, February 5 for James Marcello, and February 23 for Nicholas Calabrese - Frank's brother - who was the "star witness" for the government.

Add Samuel Randall to the list of "Chicago People Who We Need To Party With." Randall was arrested yesterday for possession of six pounds of cannabis. That amount has a street value of $18,000 or enough to get one through an East Coast leg of a Phish tour. Zing! Randall was pulled over by police after he was spotted driving the wrong way down a one-way street yesterday afternoon. During the stop, officers spotted two bags of the wacky weed in one of the car's cup holders and smelled the rest in a shopping bag on the front seat. Everyone knows you hide that stuff in the spare tire wheel well in the trunk. Though, judging by the mug shot, it appears as if Randall was sampling his own product too much to think through the haze.