Chicago criminal defense attorney

June 26, 2019

Wannabe Serial Killer on Trial for Murder of Visiting Scholar

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Brendt Christiansen told police that he murdered 13 people. Police do not believe him. Police believe that Christiansen did, however, murder Yingying Zhang, a visiting scholar, and that this could have led to other murders had they not caught him. Police were able to turn Christiansen’s girlfriend against him and got her to wear a wire. He described how he murdered Zhang and then went on to tell her that he murdered 12 other people. His girlfriend, Terra Bullis, asked Christiansen if he thought he might be the next successful serial killer and Christiansen told her that he already was and that Zhang was “number 13.”

Police say that Christiansen lured Zhang away from a bus stop and then forced her into his apartment where he raped, beat, and stabbed her.

Christiansen has pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder of Yingying Zhang.

June 19, 2019

Trial Begins for Cops Charged With Lying to Judge

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

The Fourth Amendment of the Bill of Rights protects Americans against unlawful or capricious searches. It is a foundational restriction on government overreach. The Founders knew well the capacity for state-sanctioned violence and wrote specific rules into the Constitution to protect U.S. citizens. While some laud this as the foundation of liberty, others feel it is an encumbrance to justice. Two such officers will now stand trial for providing false or misleading information to judges in order to secure warrants against suspects. These officers stand accused of using the warrants not to bring criminals to justice but rather to steal their drugs and money.

Sgt. Xavier Elizondo and Officer David Salgado stand accused of civil rights conspiracy, among other things. Other officers and at least one judge, Mauricio Araujo, will take the stand for the prosecution. The trial is set to begin on October 7th of 2019.

System of “John Does” Questioned

June 12, 2019

New Lennox Man Faces Attempted Sexual Assault Charge

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

A 17-year-old is being charged with attempted sexual assault and two counts of aggravated battery. The woman was on the Old Plank Trail in Frankfurt when the attacker, Anthony M. Carbone, allegedly pushed her to the ground. The woman asked him what he was doing and Carbone apparently looked startled and then ran off.

Was this the act of a young man who suddenly came to his senses and realized what he was doing was wrong? Or is it the act of a young man who thought twice about a sex crime he was about to perpetrate?

The police determined at some point during interrogation that Carbone was attempting to rape the woman he knocked over. But the question of how they came about that information and why the man chose to flee instead of continuing to do whatever it was he was doing will complicate their case.

June 5, 2019

Alderman Charged with Corruption Pleads Not Guilty

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Ald. Edward Burke has pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption including racketeering and bribery. The 59-page indictment accuses Burke of using his political office to steer business to his tax law firm. In addition, Burke is accused of blocking a plan to raise admission fees at a local museum because the museum had yet to deliver a chit involving an internship for a crony’s daughter.

Now, if you are a regular type of person, you are probably scratching your head. How is any of that illegal? It happens every day. Well, when you position yourself in the crosshairs of powerful people, just about everything can be made illegal. In this case, the alderman and others were the target of an ongoing federal sting that involved no small amount of intrigue.

Federal Investigation Targeted Chicago City Hall

May 29, 2019

Defendant Acquitted in Kyrian Knox Murder

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Kamel Harris, the man accused of killing and dismembering 2-year-old Kyrian Knox, was acquitted this week by a Chicago jury. The prosecution did not have a strong case against Harris, a fact we discussed in a recent blog post. The prosecution relied heavily on a patchwork motive that they generated out of a lack of possibilities.

Police claimed that Harris, who was looking after Knox “snapped one day” because the baby would not stop crying. Police claimed that the baby was lactose intolerant and was having a bad reaction to milk. However, Kyrian’s mother, Lanisha Knox, told jurors that her son had no such allergy.

Harris maintained his innocence throughout the trial. He contended that Lanisha Knox had sent three men in a van to collect her son from Harris and Harris lost track of the boy once he was in their custody.

May 24, 2019

Trial of Man Accused of Murdering Police Officer Begins

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Michael Bailey was about to retire when prosecutors say that Antwon Carter attempted to steal the Buick he had bought himself as an early retirement present. Police say that Bailey attempted to defend himself, but Carter fired back. After Bailey’s wife, Pamela, heard the shots, she ran down the stairs and found her husband lying with his eyes open on the ground. He later died at the hospital.

While Bailey was off duty, he had just finished his shift and was still wearing his uniform when the altercation took place. The crime went unsolved for a year until inmates claim that Carter bragged about the shooting. The case is now a decade old.

Carter is being charged with felony murder, among other things.

May 22, 2019

Trial Begins for Man Accused of Dismemberment of 2-Year-Old Boy

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

The body of 2-year-old Kirien Knox was found dismembered in Garfield Park Lagoon. The shocking details of the slaying moved those who witnessed the photos to tears. The man charged with the murder, Kamel Harris, has pleaded not guilty.

According to the prosecution, the boy’s mother, Lanisha Knox, left her son with Harris and five others at an apartment while Knox headed out to set up a new life in Iowa, get jobs, and find an apartment. At some point, Harris stopped responding to calls or texts made by Knox.

Police and the prosecution believe that, at some point, Harris “snapped” and murdered the boy and then tried to dispose of the body. However, they did not list a cause of death. They did, however, indicate that Harris snapped because the boy cried incessantly after a “painful reaction to milk.”

May 17, 2019

Teen Sentenced to 45 Years for Stabbing Her Mother

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

17-year-old Chastinea Reeves pleaded guilty to stabbing her own mother over 60 times. The girl was given a 45-year sentence for the slaying. Her mother, Jamie Garnett was found dead in her home. Reeves was 15 at the time of the murder and she was charged as an adult. The plea avoided the trial and a potential sentence of 65 years in prison had she been convicted of the murder. If she serves the full term, she will be 62 years old when she is released.

The state’s case appeared to the defense to be rock solid. The prosecution had the murder weapon with the victim’s blood on it and what they described as a “perfect” fingerprint. They also had two witnesses who were given plea deals and were willing to testify against Reeves at the trial.

Amber Alert Used to Apprehend Reeves

May 15, 2019

Parents Charged in Death of 5-Year-Old AJ Freund

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

As evidence mounts against the parents of AJ Freund, the media frenzy around the case casts a shadow over the possibility that the Freunds will get a fair trial. According to police, the boy’s father Drew Freund told police that he “beat” the boy and administered cold showers as punishment. The police also indicated the father led investigators to the boy’s body in a remote location in Woodstock.

Physical evidence against the father continues to pile up. This includes a shovel, soil samples linking the shovel to the burial site, muddy shoes that could link the father to the burial site, and a search he performed on his phone concerning how to perform CPR on a child.

Police Have Begun Trying This Case in the Press

May 8, 2019

Legally Blind Witness Pins Crime on Teen

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

In most courtrooms, you will note the image of Lady Justice who carries scales and is blindfolded. This carries the connotation that justice or the criminal justice system should be (but is not) blind to prejudice and other characteristics of the baser intellect. No better (nor ironic) evidence of this fact can be shown in the case of a black teen who was given 76 years on the word of a legally blind witness.

How did this happen? Well, let us take a look.

First, you have a defendant who is wearing an orange jumpsuit. Second, you have a compliant witness who probably could not pick the defendant out of a lineup but nonetheless could pick out an orange jumpsuit. Then, the prosecutor asked the witness if he could identify the man who shot two people, killing one and wounding another. The witness identified the man in the orange jumpsuit.