Monday, August 15, 2011

No lawyer on drug charge?

A man with a somewhat close connection to the Beth Bentley case got himself into a mess with the Woodstock Police in June and certainly needs an attorney. Has he got one?

Ryan Ridge's connection to the Bentley case is through his relationship with Jennifer Wyatt, with whom Beth Bentley reportedly traveled late on the evening of May 20, 2010, from Woodstock to Mount Vernon. The story at the time was that Jenn was going to see Ryan at a family-owned house in Mt. Vernon that he was rehabbing, possibly with the help of his younger brother, Nathan.

In 64 weeks no public statements have been attributed to Ryan or to his younger brother, Nathan.

Ryan Ridge was charged on June 18 with a traffic violation in Woodstock and with possession of drug paraphernalia. His first court date was July 21, and his case was continued to August 11.

He must have gone into court a week early, because court records indicate an Early Plea date of August 4 and a demand for a jury trial. His next court date is September 12 for status of his trial date.

The unusual thing about this is that there is no defense attorney of record. Ridge has been represented by a local attorney in the past, but that attorney is representing someone else with a close friendship to Beth in a recent DUI charge. Could there be a conflict-of-interest?

And in that case, there is something strange going on. That driver was charged by Woodstock Police with a DUI. DUI cases are often prosecuted by the McHenry County State's Attorney, but this case is being handled by the office of Woodstock's City Attorney.

Ridge must be getting legal advice from someone about an early plea date and asking for a jury trial. Didn't the judge tell him to get an attorney? Will he ask for a public defender? Will he proceed pro se? When a subject is representing himself (i.e., pro se, court records usually say so.

No motions exist in the computerized public records of the Circuit Clerk. Did he just make a verbal request to the judge? Because of the serious nature of the charges and in view of prior drug-related charges, it is surprising that Ridge does not have an attorney who has filed an Appearance in this case yet.

Will the attorney-of-record please stand up?

1 comment:

JOHN said...

"DUI cases are often prosecuted by the McHenry County State's Attorney, but this case is being handled by the office of Woodstock's City Attorney." Not correct Gus. Run of the mill DUI charges are handled by City Attorneys. Only the Sheriff's Dept.DUI cases are handled by the SA's office.