Criminal charges - wording matters

By the Monday morning newspaper after Kurt Milliman was shot to death late on the evening of Saturday, May 28, two persons had been charged with crimes. Sheriff's deputies didn't have to run them down; they were waiting outside the house, when the first deputy arrived.

Undersheriff Zinke was quoted in that Monday's print-edition article (when was the Northwest Herald's deadline for the Monday paper?) as saying, "Based on the evidence at the scene, witness statements, ..."

At that time and since, I wondered who the witnesses were. No "witness" has ever been mentioned. Two suspects were there and were arrested. Did Zinke mean suspects? If so, why did he refer to them as witnesses?

Even that first newspaper article mentioned the felony charges and a misdemeanor charge. The detectives and the State's Attorney's Office must have been busy that Sunday.

Count 3 of the Complaint against Timothy S. Smith was for Pandering.
Count 4 (Misdemeanor Class A) was for Pimping.

What's the difference? Read the following wording carefully.

The Pandering charge reads, "... said Defendant For $40.00 United State's (sic) Currency knowingly arranged a situation in which Kimberly Smith AKA Kimberly Holian might practice prostitution in that he arranged for Kurt Milliman to go to his residence located at 4320 Doty Rd Woodstock, IL 60098 to have sexual intercourse with Kimberly Smith AKA Kimberly Holian in exchange for money." And Timothy Smith is accused of doing that "on or about the 28th day of May.

One cannot help noticing that the Sheriff's Department has been silent about any details; for example, at what location and when were the "arrangements" made? OK, so the "when" is "on or about the 28th day of May"; May 28th is the Saturday when Kurt was killed.

When and how did Timothy Smith claim that he "arranged a situation"? Does he claim that some part of the "arrangement" was made in person? Did he "arrange" it via the internet? Craigslist has been mentioned. But how did the $40.00 "United State's Currency" get paid? And when? Did Timothy claim (admit) that he collected $40.00 "Currency" in person? Or did he get a payment by PayPal?

Are the witnesses the same as the two accused? Is the Sheriff's Department taking for granted that they are telling the truth? Especially, since they are charged with lying right off the bat?

If you read the wording carefully, it looks like Timothy got paid $40 for the "arrangements" and then Kimberly was to provide the sex "in exchange for money." How much money was Kimberly going to receive? How much did Timothy claim that Kimberly was going to receive?

In Count 4 of the Complaint against Kimberly Smith a charge of Prostitution is made. It reads that "on or about the 29th day of May, 2011", "... that said Defendant (Kimberly) Knowingly agreed with Kurt Milliman to perform (a sex act) in exchange for $40.00 United State's (sic) Currency." It absolutely did not happen on May 29th. Why was that date used as the "on or about" date?

The same $40.00 that Timothy collected for Pandering?

Is this case going to blow up in court, or even before it ever gets to court?

On her affidavit for a public defender, Kimberly listed that she had $600 in cash, in addition to a small amount in a bank account. Where is that money now?

The money ought to still be in the custody of the Sheriff's Department. While the Court ordered her money released, that court order was stayed on the same day. Wouldn't that money be possible evidence? As of the end of last week, the stay was still in effect. Is that $600 still in the Sheriff's custody?

The Pimping charge (Count 5) reads, "... that said Defendant (Timothy) Received United States currency from Kimberly Smith AKA Kimberly Holian, a prostitute, not for a lawful consideration, knowing it was earned in whole or in part from the practice of prostitution."

Is this Pimping charge worded in too general a way, because it does not refer to the Milliman case and does not refer to any particular sex act. The charge is that "on or about the 29th day of May, 2011", Timothy committed the offense of Pimping. Oh, really? Wasn't he in custody?

Will a jury be picky about dates? Or will a jury buy the "on or about" date? When the offense obviously did not occur on May 29th, why was that date used as the "on or about" date?