Articles Tagged with Chicago criminal defense attorney

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The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) has filed a complaint with the Illinois Labor Relations Board after several officers were allegedly unfairly suspended during investigations. Across the U.S., police departments have been taking complaints about officers more seriously since the death of George Floyd and the ensuing protests that gripped the nation.

Sidelined officers include notable ones such as the officer who punched activist Miracle Boyd in the face after a confrontation in front of the Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park. Others include police officers accused of dragging a woman out of her car by her hair and then kneeling on her neck, and another officer caught on film giving someone the finger. 

The FOP insists that none of those officers should have either been fired or suspended until the investigations were complete. They have filed an unfair labor practices complaint over the handling of police misconduct investigations. 

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COPA, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, has called for the firing of Officer Saharat Sampin. They have found that Sampin lied in a report concerning the death of 19-year-old Roshad McIntosh. According to Sampin, McIntosh had a gun before another officer shot him. 

The incident occurred in 2014 after police were called to the scene of a complaint involving armed men. Upon arriving at the scene, officers say that one of the men tried to run and pointed a gun at officers while he did so. 

COPA documents indicate that Sampin said he saw a man wearing dark clothing take a silver gun from his waistband and point it at officers. Another officer fired three shots, ending McIntosh’s life. Sampin also said that he saw McIntosh with a gun pointed at the officer who ultimately shot him, Robert Slechter. 

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The feds arrested the alleged leader of the Black Disciples gang, Darnell “Murder” McMiller. The Black Disciples are believed to be involved in gun and drug trafficking and are one of the major players on Chicago’s south side. 

These arrests come amid Trump initiatives to send federal officers into major cities, all democratic strongholds. Trump and Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who initially opposed the move, came to an agreement. Trump appears to be interested in helping these democratic cities fight violent crime. However, his tactics have garnered nationwide condemnation in Portland, where allegedly plainclothes DHS officers grabbed people off the streets and took them to federal facilities without filing charges. 

Most of the Portland mission seemed geared toward protecting the federal courthouse that had been vandalized by protesters over the course of several nights. This, however, appears geared toward reducing some of the violence in the most troubled parts of Chicago.

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A top FBI agent who worked right here in Chicago’s organized crime division is being accused of stealing classified information and “hoarding” it. Yen Cham Yung managed to achieve top government clearance, but now he will be brought to Chicago to face charges.

Yung was accused of keeping hundreds of classified documents without consent. These documents did not contain information about spies or UFOs, but they did detail undercover informants, surveillance activity, and memos sent between supervisors concerning gang activity.

Yung also had a memorandum between CIA and FBI agents concerning activities in both the U.S. and abroad. Memoranda like these become necessary when the FBI and CIA are conducting operations against one another without realizing they are working for the same side. This memorandum was accessed by someone using Yung’s credentials.

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Three men are facing federal charges after using a crowbar to break into a Bank of America ATM. These are among the latest charges levied against Chicagoans during the several days of civil unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd. Chyenne Simpson, Rickie Foy and Pierre Harvey have each been charged with one count of attempted bank theft. 

The three were among a larger group of people who were caught on the bank’s security footage attempting to use various tools to crack open the ATM located in the vestibule outside of the bank. While the ATM contained at least $300,000 worth of cash, authorities report that none of the money was actually stolen. 

The group scattered once officers arrived, but they were able to detain the three men near the scene of the heist. The men denied being part of the attempted robbery of the ATM. 

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Two individuals are facing charges after Chicago police dispersed a gathering in Englewood. 21-year-old Jaquan Hayden is charged with one count of aggravated use of a weapon and two counts of resisting arrest. 42-year-old Sedrick Monroe is facing one count of being a habitual criminal in possession of a firearm.

Monroe was arrested after laying down his weapon in front of a car. He attempted to flee on foot but was eventually caught by officers. Hayden was arrested after a call for shots fired. Police caught up with him running through an empty parking lot. Officers were able to recover a revolver from Hayden. Neither man had a license to carry concealed weapons. 

Three others were arrested and charged with misdemeanors. 

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Criminal justice is a complex issue, and it is no secret that innocent people are convicted every day while guilty ones go free. Furthermore, the role that prisons and prisoner health plays in the process of criminal justice is a controversial one. 

Every prison has a duty to the inmates to ensure that their basic needs are met. This means that they remain healthy, fed, and in a sanitary environment. When prisons cannot do this, they are liable to the families if prisoners die under their watch. Families file wrongful death lawsuits against prisons all the time. While prisoners do not make ideal plaintiffs, the government is not an ideal defendant, either. 

So what happens now that you have a pandemic going on? Well, some of those awaiting trial have already been released to their families (depending on the charges) while others, who are considered low-risk, are also being released.

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A Chicago-area father is facing charges after his son shot himself in the hand with a household gun. Bernard Shields, 36, of Chicago is facing a felony charge of being a habitual criminal in possession of a weapon with a filed-off serial number. He is also facing a felony count of possession of a controlled substance and several misdemeanor counts related to the discharge of the weapon and child endangerment. 

What Happened?

The parents were asleep when the boy found the gun in one of his father’s pants. Anyone who owns a gun should know better than to keep it in their pants when there are children around. He took the gun to the bathroom, ostensibly to play with it, and the gun discharged, injuring his hand. The child was taken to Children’s Hospital where he was treated for his injuries and then sent home. His father fled the scene knowing that police would be arriving shortly, but was later found and arrested. 

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brandi-ibrao-1140359-unsplash-copy-300x225Last week, Kim Foxx announced that she would be shutting down operations for the domestic violence courthouse for 14 days after one of the employees tested positive for COVID-19. This is despite the fact that there has been a spike in domestic violence complaints during the shutdown. 

As of the writing of this blog post, prosecutors had stopped hearing domestic violence cases in all but the most violent or dangerous of situations. The office assured those in difficult situations that they were setting up a means to field complaints by phone. Those in dangerous situations are currently advised to petition judges in civil court for injunctions, restraining orders, and more. 

An Uptick Domestic Violence Hotline Calls 

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marco-chilese-2sMbKyQvom4-unsplash-copy-200x300Both Harvey Weinstein and R. Kelly have filed motions with the court for temporary release during the coronavirus outbreak citing health hazards. Weinstein and Kelly are both older with Weinstein being the more vulnerable of the two due to a recent surgery and more advanced age. Both were denied bail by the courts. 

But can others be expected to get their bail denied during the COVID-19 outbreak? 

The Virus is a Problem for Prisons

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