Police & Fire

Court Watch: Woman Takes Guilty Plea in Solicitation of 16-Year-Old

Also, an Orland Park man is charged with the carjacking of an 88-year-old woman while a New Lenox murder trial continues.

By Bridgette Outten
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August 11, 2012

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The Southland's major criminal and civil cases heard in Cook County and Will County courts this week.

Cook County

OAK FOREST - Case Continues for Man Charged with First-Degree Murder

Norberto Rodriguez, the former Chicago police officer accused of murdering his estranged wife remains in custody and appeared in a Markham courtroom for a status hearing this week. Rodriguez is accused of shooting and killing Irma Rodriguez. Her body was found in the trunk of her car in June 2009.

Attorneys for both sides said the discovery phase is complete and another status hearing has been set for Sept. 13.

OAK LAWN - Woman Pleads Guilty to Lesser Charge in Teen Solicitation Case, Gets Probation

Lauren Papiez, 21, pleaded guilty Friday, Aug. 10 to a misdemeanor harmful materials charge after being accused of soliciting a 16-year-old girl for sex.

Papiez was accused of soliciting a 16-year-old for sex with her boyfriend James West and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Friday, Aug. 10 and received 24 months of probation, ordered to stay away from the victim and to pay court costs.

ORLAND PARK - Bail Set at $500,000 for Orland Park Man Accused of Carjacking

Judge Peter Felice set bail at $500,000 for an Orland Park man accused of kicking an 88-year-old woman in a Walgreens parking lot and stealing her car in court Monday morning.

Felice also set a $100,000 bail for Peter Sousan, 24, for an unrelated criminal trespass of vehicle case.

PALOS - Charges Double for Driver in Deadly Crash Near Palos Hills

Sam Cafi, 28, of Justice pleaded not guilty this week to more than 100 charges of aggravated DUI in connection to a fatal crash near Palos Hills in March. The new case has 132 counts total, including one count of reckless homicide, while the previous case had 61 felony charges of aggravated DUI.

Cafi was charged in connection to the March 10 crash that killed 28-year-old Ryan Osowski of Darien and injured three others. He is scheduled to be back in court on Sept. 12.

TINLEY PARK - Attorneys in Animal Cruelty Case To Argue Motions Next Week

The case against Dazzle's Painted Pastures Animal Rescue and Sanctuary owner Dawn Hamill is creeping toward trial, with attorneys for both sides exchanging pre-trial motions in a Markham courtroom Thursday, Aug. 9.
Neither side elaborated on the motions recently filed, but the attorneys agreed to make their arguments before Judge Anna Helen Demacopoulous on Tuesday, Aug. 14.

TINLEY PARK - Case continued for Florida man charged with unlawful possession of weapons

Francis Gilroy of Florida appeared briefly in court on an unlawful possession of weapons by a felon after the Ashford House mob attack.

Gilroy, 65, was reportedly a victim in the attack but was arrested on the weapons charges. He is scheduled to be back in court on Sept. 27.

LEMONT — Arraignment Set for Man Accused of Planting Camera in Lemont Starbucks Bathroom

A Cook County judge ruled Monday that sufficient evidence exists to try a Texas man accused of placing a video camera in the women's bathroom at the Lemont Starbucks.

Brent C. Faulk, 27, of Houston, TX, is charged with felony unlawful video recording for allegedly planting a camera in Starbucks, 1243 State St., with intent to sell the images on the Internet.

The incident reportedly happened May 15, when a Starbucks employee found the cup and camera while she was cleaning the bathroom, prosecutors said.

Will County

PALOS - Man Pleads Not Guilty in Fatal DUI Case

Andrew Henderson, 24, of Palos Park pleaded not guilty Wednesday to two counts of aggravated DUI in connection with a July 14 crash that killed a Minooka man and sent a family of four to the hospital.

He has a Sept. 5 pretrial date on charges that he was drunk when his Dodge Durango SUV rear-ended another vehicle at the intersection of Route 126 and County Line Road, pushing the car into the path of an oncoming motorcycle.

NEW LENOX — Murder Defendant's Motion to Quash Evidence Denied by Judge

A Chicago man's request to suppress interrogation room evidence was denied Wednesday in his trial, where he's charged with the murder of New Lenox Township resident Dwight Jones.

Earlier this summer, Julun and assistant public defender Mike Renzi called the interrogation “psychologically coercive,” noting that “the defendant was so shaken and confused … he cried and frequently asked to go home.” The defense asked Will County Judge Daniel Rozak to throw out any statements Julun made during his interrogation, but after watching the interrogation room footage for himself, Rozak struck down the motion filed the suppress the evidence during the trial.

MOKENA — Defense Grows Impassioned in Messina Aggravated Battery Case

The aggravated battery case of New Lenox resident Joseph Messina, 24, who was accused three years ago on his 21st birthday of punching a Joliet man into a coma during a bar fight in Mokena, got a bit theatrical Monday at Will County Circuit Court in Joliet.

Will County Circuit Judge Sarah Jones said she would review the case and return Aug. 13 with a decision in regard to the motion for mistrial with prejudice.