Here we go again - continuance after continuance

Another continuance occurred in the criminal prosecution of Kimberly Smith this week. How many will there be? Will this case drag on for two-three years?

What is magical in McHenry County Circuit Court about "See you again in 30 days". Why don't judges set action to occur within the time-frame of a continuance and then demand answers and explanations at the next hearing? As it is, attorney after attorney parade in front of judges with requests for more continuances. It wouldn't have anything to do with generating fees, would it? I've never heard a judge ask a follow-up question about the results in the previous 30 days.

Smith, wife of Timothy Smith, who is jailed as the accused murderer of Kurt Milliman last May, is charged with prostitution (a misdemeanor) and three felonies (two counts of obstructing justice and one count of false reporting).

Why wasn't she charged as an accomplice to first-degree murder? Allegedly, her husband and she offered sex for money, and she was right there when Milliman was shot by Timothy Smith. And then the Smiths attempted to concoct a story before dialing 9-1-1 to summon sheriff's deputies, who then summoned paramedics.

Will the State's Attorney's Office refuse any "deal" and take this case to trial? Would a "deal" mean that the public might not learn more about what really happened that night? If Kimberly Smith were under oath and facing 20-30 years in prison, would she sing a different tune? Of course, there is the husband-wife thing. Does that work in Illinois?

Who were Kimberly Smith's friends? Have investigators in the State's Attorney's Office (outside the sheriff's department) carefully investigated the list of "friends"?

How will her cases be resolved?

Escapee still on the loose?

Is an escapee still on the loose in Crystal Lake?

According to this morning's Northwest Herald, a prisoner escaped in the Crystal Lake area last evening. Well, maybe last evening. It seems that the McHenry County Sheriff's Department may have directed automated telephone message to a few residents in the area of Hillside and Walkup about a man who escaped - while handcuffed!

Lots of detail, eh? Residents were were at home or who later listened to messages on their answering machines got the message. Why wasn't NIXLE used?

What about residents out for an evening walk? Or walking their dogs? Why didn't the Sheriff's Department send out a message that would hit cell phones, smartphones, and email boxes of people still at work who might be driving home and drive right past the escapee?

The Northwest Herald article said that the man "escaped police custody." Is that the Crystal Lake Police or the McHenry County Sheriff's Department? Do reporters understand the difference and distinguish between "police" and "deputy sheriff"?

The reporter must not be from this area, since Walkup was spelled "Walk Up" Road.

I posted the following comment a few minutes ago: "Why isn't a Northwest Herald editor calling Zinke and Nygren every 30 minutes and demanding complete information? Where is the wonderful NIXLE system? Where is more recent news? Has the escapee been captured? How did he escape? If he escaped from "police custody", is that from the Crystal Lake Police or the Sheriff's Department? What is the escapee's name? Come on, BE a newspaper!"

Serious charges nolle prossed

Judge Prather must have gotten up on the right side of the bed this morning. And the public defender swung a good deal for a defendant in a 402 Conference in Case No. 11CF000836.

Back on August 21, Joshua Velmont was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, misdemeanor possession of cannabis, and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

A reader contacted me and complained that Josh just had a prescribed medication with him that was not in its container and he really wasn't guilty of the felony.

In court today the attorneys and the judge met in a 402 Conference and the deal was that the felony would be dropped and the misdemeanor cannabis possession charge would be dropped. Well, not quite "dropped"; the legal term is nolle prosequi or nolle prossed, which means "not prosecuted".

And he was fined $1,304 in fines, court costs and fees, plus sentenced to probation, one-year supervision and conditional discharge. Which means that, if he keeps his nose clean for a year, the charges are dismissed. Then he could file to have the charges expunged, which might or might not fly. But he won't get his $1,304 back.

I've never been able to satisfy myself that it's fair to drop charges but keep the money.

So, if Josh, whom I don't know, had a prescribed medication with him but out of the container, why did the cop in Wonder Lake charge him with felony possession? And why did the State's Attorney's Office allow the felony charge? Just because he could? I think cops don't understand what it means to charge somebody with a crime and not be able to have the proof to get a conviction. So now this court record of a felony charge is there for any employer to see.

What would it have cost to go to trial and fight the felony? Was he absolutely certain he was innocent? Would a finding of Not Guilty be better than nolle prossed? Of course, you can never be certain of an outcome in court, which is why so many defendants accept "deals".

Don't kick penguins this week-end

Okay, should that read "Don't Kick Penguins" will be this week-end?

This Saturday, Oct. 22, at McHenry County College the Principled Minds not-for-profit group will sponsor the Second Annual "Don't Kick Penguins" program. The target audience is middle-school students (and their parents). There must be thousands in McHenry County.

The place to be on Saturday is MCC, and the time is 8:30AM. The program consists of a series of 45-minute seminars on topics such as same-sex relationships, social self-image and ethnic and racial issues.

What if 300-400-500 students and parents showed up this Saturday? Well, if that happens, event organizers might just be overwhelmed. But they'll figure out how to deal with the crowds; don't worry about that.

So get those kids out of their beds, into the car, and arrive by 8:30AM; maybe earlier. Bring $10 for each one for the t-shirt, food and drinks. No money? Show up, anyway.

Students will get to choose three workshops from the nine to be offered, and parents will gather in the Conference Center for condensed presentations of all nine.

For more information, go to Facebook and enter Don't Kick Penguins.

Are police investigating Delisi death?

Think there is any activity at the Woodstock Police Department into the suspicious death of Robert Delisi? His body was found on the Metra Railroad tracks near the Woodstock Police station on September 13.

Toxicology results were to be available in 2-3 weeks. Because the McHenry County Coroner decided not to conduct an inquest, will the public ever learn the results of lab work? Why is this important?

The public will only know if the results are "important" after they are released.

Did Delisi end up on the tracks under his own power, or did someone put his body there? If someone did, they must not have realized, fortunately, that the outbound Metra tracks were not in service, due to construction at the Calhoun Street grade crossing. Outbound rail traffic was temporarily diverted to the inbound tracks during the repairs.

I didn't know Delisi, but there are many people in Woodstock who are involving in the drug scene. These include users, dealers, suppliers and onlookers. There is no such thing as an innocent onlooker or bystander, when illegal drugs are in use or changing hands.

Many think that marijuana use is harmless. Others tell a different story. Does marijuana use lead to cocaine and heroin use? And to all the collateral crimes that occur, to support the drug habit?

Any guesses as to the percentage of Woodstock (Ill.) residents who uses drugs illegally? Where do they get them? Are dealers giving away drugs, to get new customers "hooked"? Hint - like in the high schools or middle schools in Woodstock?

Driver hits building in apt. complex

Photo by Joe Tambone

Yesterday a driver from Harvard didn't hit her brakes hard enough or in time and smashed into an entrance to a building at the Willow Brooke Apartments in Woodstock. She was lucky, and certainly any residents or visitors of the building were extremely lucky.

The Northwest Herald carried a short story about it this morning but didn't run a photo. The paper's headline referred to the vehicle as a "minivan".Is this vehicle a "minivan"?

Woodstock Police and Woodstock Fire Rescue responded. The woman, who was not identified in the newspaper article, was not charged with any violation, probably because the crash happened on private property.

Isn't there a vehicular control agreement in effect between Willow Brooke Apartments and the Woodstock Police Department? Such an agreement would allow the police to enforce Illinois traffic laws in the parking lots of the apartment community.

What would cause a driver to turn into a parking space but fail to stop? Distracted driving? Cell phone in use? Texting? Reading a text message? Fiddling with a radio dial? Paying attention to a child or animal in the car, instead of watching where the car was going?

Did City pay Gorski yet?

On September 22 the Woodstock Police Pension Board met and decided to pay former Sgt. Steve Gorski for injuries received while he was on duty. In its infinite wisdom, the Board considered all the facts, such as that Gorski had arrived at the scene of a fatal crash in a Woodstock squad car (so he must have been in uniform and on duty) and injured his back while at the crash scene. And then it ruled that he was off-duty at the time he was injured.

Somebody help me here...  What am I missing?

Of course, by ruling that he was off-duty, the City is going to owe Gorski less money. That conclusion ought to worry every police officer at the Woodstock P.D.

Gorski's attorney asked the Board if it was going to make payment to Sgt. Gorski before the 21 days had passed, saying that that is "usually" how it happens. Hearing officer John Kelly, from a Naperville law firm (does he get paid his regular hourly rate during his commute to and from Woodstock?), said "they" (whoever "they" are) would start processing payment after verifying salary from the 2007 date of injury (that's FOUR years, folks) and that they would not be holding up on payment.

Famous last words, right?

How does this work? The Police Pension Board rules that payment should be made. Then what? Does some beancounter punch numbers into a calculator, figure out deductions, and order a check cut? Or does the administration of the City (City Manager? City Council? Mayor?) have to approve the action of the Police Pension Board?

How long will they drag that out? And if there is a fight over whether the injury was really an on-duty injury and compensable at a higher rate, will the City go ahead and pay the amount approved by the Police Pension Board now, or will it hold that up while the final battle is fought?

The Board also announced that its written decision would be issued within 21 days of September 22. That would have been October 13, about a week ago. I wonder if it was issued.