The man whose videotaped murder of a defenseless detainee resulted in several months’ worth of protests is now facing felony tax evasion charges. Chauvin will now face charges of second-degree murder and multiple felony counts of tax evasion.
Chauvin and his wife are accused of hiding income streams on their taxes including more than $95,000 in income from his side job providing security.
Is His Wife Also Guilty?
A former Chicago Public Schools football coach has been accused of sexual misconduct with one of his players. This individual is also accused of taking nude photos of the student and then posting those photos in the victim’s apartment building and in areas that would be on the way to his school.
Curtis Thomas worked at the Bronzeville Scholastic Institute High School when the alleged assault occurred. His official title was “school community representative.” Thomas was fired in 2014 and placed on a “do not hire” list.
CPS officials are not speaking publicly about the incident. They refused to indicate whether Thomas was a football coach on the team when the student was assaulted. Prosecutors, however, said that Thomas was among the football coaches on the team at the time of the assault. The boy was 15 in 2010 when the assault occurred.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported on a CTA incident in which two CTA employees allegedly got into an altercation with a bus rider. The incident occurred on June 11. 28-year-old Leonard Anders Jr. and 46-year-old Milan Williams, both transit employees, have been fired and now face charges for their role in the incident. The victim, 43-year-old Lawrence Madden can be seen on video getting body slammed by Lawrence Madden who entered the altercation after a fight broke out between Anders and Madden.
CTA announced that the two men were being fired for violation of a number of rules, including conduct unbefitting of a CTA employee and failure to report the incident. The two men also face charges of misdemeanor battery and aggravated felony battery.
Who Threw the First Punch?
Charges have been filed against Reginald Merrill, a 33-year-old Chicago man who is being blamed for the death of a 7-year-old girl. It is one of several deaths across the country that have people taking a harder look at gang violence across America’s cities.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot delivered an impassioned plea to those responsible for this kind of violence. She said in a speech that she wanted us all to feel the loss of children dying at the hands of gang members who fire indiscriminately into crowds.
Merrill has been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery.
Josia Biewer is facing hate crime charges for vandalizing both public and private property with racially inflammatory graffiti in Arlington Heights. Biewer, who is 20 years old, will face seven felony counts of criminal damage to property and hate crimes.
Once the racist graffiti began to pile up, police began patrolling areas where it was found. At 2 a.m., police noticed a suspicious vehicle. Police searched the area and discovered Josia Biewer attempting to get into the car. The vehicle sped off without its headlights on, but police were able to track down Biewer who later admitted to defacing the property.
Understanding Hate Crimes in Illinois
More than 3,000 Chicagoans were charged with criminal violations related to the George Floyd protests. Floyd was killed on camera when officer Daniel Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. The ensuing protests gripped the nation for the next month before quieting down in late June.
During these protests, skirmishes between police and protesters were common. While many of the protests remained peaceful, some included serious rioting and at least one Minneapolis police station was burned to the ground.
Charges Qualifying for Dismissal
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will hear two points that were raised by Bill Cosby’s defense attorneys in his 2018 sexual assault case. Cosby is accused of drugging and raping several women. Cosby, who is now 82, was convicted in 2018 of three counts of sexual assault and battery related to a single victim. He was sentenced to 10 years and has remained behind bars since then.
Two lower courts have already refused to overturn Cosby’s conviction. However, the Supreme Court could, if the rules of procedure were not followed properly, vacate the conviction and order a new trial.
What Arguments Will the Supreme Court Consider?
A top FBI agent who worked right here in Chicago’s organized crime division is being accused of stealing classified information and “hoarding” it. Yen Cham Yung managed to achieve top government clearance, but now he will be brought to Chicago to face charges.
Yung was accused of keeping hundreds of classified documents without consent. These documents did not contain information about spies or UFOs, but they did detail undercover informants, surveillance activity, and memos sent between supervisors concerning gang activity.
Yung also had a memorandum between CIA and FBI agents concerning activities in both the U.S. and abroad. Memoranda like these become necessary when the FBI and CIA are conducting operations against one another without realizing they are working for the same side. This memorandum was accessed by someone using Yung’s credentials.
Three men are facing federal charges after using a crowbar to break into a Bank of America ATM. These are among the latest charges levied against Chicagoans during the several days of civil unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd. Chyenne Simpson, Rickie Foy and Pierre Harvey have each been charged with one count of attempted bank theft.
The three were among a larger group of people who were caught on the bank’s security footage attempting to use various tools to crack open the ATM located in the vestibule outside of the bank. While the ATM contained at least $300,000 worth of cash, authorities report that none of the money was actually stolen.
The group scattered once officers arrived, but they were able to detain the three men near the scene of the heist. The men denied being part of the attempted robbery of the ATM.
Nearly 1,500 Chicagoans were arrested as violence continued across the U.S. as Americans took to the streets to protest the death of George Floyd. Roughly 80% of those facing charges are facing simple disorderly conduct charges. Chances are, many of the misdemeanor charges will be dropped, although disorderly conduct can be charged as high as a class-three felony in certain situations.
253 cases have been handed over to Chicago’s felony review division. Of those, 184 charges remained, the majority of those relating to unlawful possession of a weapon. Another 40 charges were for burglary. The majority of those cases have been approved and will be prosecuted.
What is Felony Disorderly Conduct?
Chicago Criminal Lawyer Blog