Friday, February 8, 2013
Jonathan Sarolas pleaded guilty to felony carjacking Thursday and was sentenced to 12 years in state prison, while the woman he said was his accomplice has asked for a bench trial.
A man who admitted to carjacking an Orland Park restaurant employee last summer with a BB gun was sentenced to 12 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections Thursday, but the woman he said helped him plan the crime is moving forward with a trial. Jonathan Sarolas, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking, a class X felony, in Judge John J. Hynes' Bridgeview courtroom. He has been in Cook County Jail on $700,000 bond since he was captured for the June 25, 2012 incident. Sarolas' arrest was also a parole violation for a 2006 robbery conviction and he had been released from prison 11 days before the carjacking. He was credited with 224 days time served and will also have to pay $725 in court costs. However, 24-…
Friday, January 18, 2013
Hearings continue in the felony vehicular hijacking case against Peter Sousan, who is accused of fracturing an 88-year-old woman's leg as he stole her car last summer.
Prosecutors produced hospital records Wednesday for attorneys defending a man accused of fracturing an 88-year-old woman's leg as he kicked her and stole her car last summer. Peter Sousan, 24, is in custody on $500,000 bond on felony vehicular hijacking charges. He was given $100,000 bail for violating court supervision in an unrelated criminal trespass of vehicle case. He pleaded not guilty in the carjacking case in September. Sousan stood quietly next to his attorney during the hearing Wednesday in Judge Colleen Ann Hyland's Bridgeview courtroom, as prosecutors gave defense counsel two pages of EMS reports related to incident. On July 30, according to reports, Sousan grabbed the elderly woman's purse and car keys in an Orland Park …
Friday, January 11, 2013
The next court date for a man and a woman accused of carjacking an Orland Park restaurant employee with a BB gun could determine whether the pair will go to trial or consider a deal.
Attorneys for two people accused of carjacking an Orland Park restaurant employee last summer will have to indicate next month whether the pair will go to trial or want to resolve the case with a plea, a Cook County judge said Thursday. At a hearing in his Bridgeview courtroom, Judge John J. Hynes reminded counsel for Jonathan Sarolas, 25, and April Schmidt, 24, that the exchange of evidence is complete in the case and the next status date should determine whether they want to move forward with a trial. Both have been charged with felony aggravated vehicular hijacking. On June 25, police say Sarolas held up the employee with a BB pistol and stole her car keys and purse, before Sarolas and Schmidt fled the parking lot of Red Lobster in …
Monday, November 19, 2012
Lawyers said Thursday that they are finished with the discovery phase of the felony carjacking case against Jonathan Sarolas and April Schmidt, who are accused of stealing the car of an Orland Park restaurant employee with a BB gun.
Attorneys for both sides have finished exchanging evidence in a felony case against two people accused of carjacking an Orland Park restaurant employee with a BB gun, officials said Thursday. The next court date for Jonathan Sarolas, 24, and April Schmidt, 23, may include pre-trial motions, though a defense attorney for Sarolas hasn't ruled out a plea agreement before then. "There's always the chance of an agreement," attorney Gus Kostopoulos told Patch after a brief status hearing on the case in Judge John J. Hynes' Bridgeview courtroom. However, "I haven't spoken to any [prosecutors] about it," he added. Police say Sarolas held up the employee with a BB pistol and stole her car keys and purse, before Sarolas and Schmidt fled the parking …
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
A defense attorney for April Schmidt, who is accused of assisting a man with carjacking an Orland Park restaurant employee with a BB gun, received more evidence in the case in court Tuesday.
A woman who has been facing charges connected to an Orland Park carjacking appeared briefly in a Bridgeview courtroom Tuesday, as her defense attorney received more evidence for the case. April Schmidt, 23, of Woodriver, is charged with aggravated vehicular hijacking, and is out on bail. Schmidt pleaded not guilty on Aug. 2, along with Jonathan Sarolas, 24, who remains in custody on $700,000 bail. Wearing a thin hoodie and jeans, Schmidt didn't speak as she stood next to attorney Timothy M. Grace in Judge John J. Hynes' courtroom. Grace received "packets of discovery" from prosecutor Debbie Lawler. Grace told Patch after the hearing that he was appearing for his partner, Marc E. Gottreich, and declined further comment on the case. …
Friday, September 21, 2012
Michael J. Kroll, 24, of Orland Park pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular hijacking charges Friday, and was sentenced to 18 years in state prison, according to county officials.
An Orland Park man accused of carjacking an elderly woman in Tinley Park has pleaded guilty to related charges, and was sentenced to 18 years in state prison by a Cook County judge, officials said Friday. Michael J. Kroll, 24, entered the guilty plea in Judge Colleen Ann Hyland's Bridgeview courtroom. He was sentenced to 18 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, according to deputies and confirmed by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office. Deputies in Hyland's court also said Kroll got credit for 293 days served and his sentence will be at a 50 percent rate, which means nine years less time served in prison. Authorities say Kroll, of the 9100 block Brookside Court, and another man, approached a woman in her 90s outside the …
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Peter Sousan, 24, of Orland Park remained in custody during a hearing Monday, Aug. 27 in a Bridgeview courtroom.
A man accused of fracturing an 88-year-old woman's leg as he kicked her and stole her car will be arraigned in about two weeks, a Cook County judge decided Monday. Peter Sousan, 24, stood next to Mohammad Ramadan, a representative for his attorney, during the short hearing before Judge Peter Felice. Sousan, wearing a khaki Department of Corrections jumpsuit, didn't speak as Ramadan announced his colleague's taking over of the case from a public defender. On July 30, according to reports, Sousan grabbed the elderly woman's purse and car keys in a Walgreens parking lot, kicked the woman in the leg and struck her in the chest with the car door while he got inside, before driving away north on 80th Avenue. Sousan's bail was set at $500,000 …
Sunday, August 12, 2012
We look back at a week of accused carjackers in court, quick moving on a fire, pains at the pump, growth and debt, new in Old Orland and ribs.
MONDAY Sights, Flavors and Sounds: The 2012 Taste of Orland Park Gallery Take a look back at a fun-filled weekend of food, music, laughs, dancing and more. Add your pictures from the weekend. Comings & Goings: Savers to Open Next Week in Orland Park Construction is under way on an 80-unit independent senior housing project in Orland Park. TUESDAY Residents Escape House Before Garage Fire Spread Flames reached an attached bedroom, but didn’t go any further and overall a majority of the house was spared from heavy damage. Bail Set at $500,000 for Orland Park Man Accused of Carjacking Peter Sousan, 24, also received $100,000 bail for violating his probation on an unrelated criminal trespass of a vehicle charge. WEDNESDAY Sarah Kustok Going to…
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Jonathan Sarolas, 23, will be back in court on Aug. 15 on an aggravated vehicular hijacking charge after he was accused of carjacking an Orland Park restaurant employee with a BB gun.
Jonathan Sarolas, the 23-year-old man accused of carjacking an Orland Park restaurant employee with a BB gun, pleaded not guilty to charges against him, officials confirmed this week. Cook County State's Attorney's Office spokesman Andy Conklin told Patch Monday that Sarolas pleaded not guilty on Aug. 2. He is facing an aggravated vehicular hijacking, a Class X felony, with Judge Colleen Hyland presiding. Bail was set at $700,000 in the case by Judge Peter Felice for Sarolas, who had been released from state prison 11 days before the alleged incident on June 25. April Schmidt, 23, of Woodriver, who police say was Sarolas' accomplice, was also charged with aggravated vehicular hijacking. Schmidt also pleaded not guilty on Aug. 2 in front …
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Peter Sousan, 24, also received $100,000 bail for violating his probation on an unrelated criminal trespass of a vehicle charge.
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. Sousan was sentenced to a year of court supervision March of this year in Judge Linzey Jones' courtroom in that case, according to court records and Cook County State's Attorney spokesman Andy Conklin. Sousan has three new felony charges against him: aggravated vehicular hijacking (Class X felony), aggravated battery (Class 2 felony) and robbery (Class 1 felony). On July 30, the elderly woman parked her car at Walgreen’s at 80th Avenue and 159th Street, and …
Jack Inhoff
12:36 am on Thursday, February 14, 2013
Hey- to be fair, the guy almost made it 2-full weeks out of prison. He was getting his life back together and he even had a nice girlfriend. The girlfriend will get a much more lenient sentence. They always do. more ›