Corry Simmons, 32, and Donald Robinson Jr., 31, both of the 1800 block of South Ridgeway; pleaded guilty Monday to mob action and aggravated battery, according to Cook County State’s Attorney’s office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton.

They were each sentenced to two years of probation and court fines.

Alvin L. Goffin pleaded guilty to mob action in the case and was sentenced to one year of probation, Simonton said.

Three men — ages 22, 27 and 27 — were hurt when a group of men attacked them in the 3400 block of North Sheffield Avenue about 1 a.m. on July 9, 2012 according to Chicago Police.

Witnesses said the attackers got out of a white stretch limo and began battering people standing nearby on the street, police said. The witnesses said people inside the limo were filming the attackers as they punched the victims.

Goffin, Simmons, Donald Robinson Jr. and a fourth man, Edward Robinson, were arrested when witnesses pointed them out to police near the scene. Simmons got into a scuffle with police as he was taken into custody, and an officer suffered a minor injury, police said.

Prosecutors said the four began beating people “for no apparent reason,” and one of the victims had his jaw broken in the melee, police said.

But relatives claimed the four were simply filming a rap video when they were taunted by passersby with racial slurs.

During bond proceedings, defense attorneys said the video would prove that they were being taunted. A relative said someone grabbed one of the men, who had borrowed the limo from a friend to film the video — and had chosen Wrigleyville for a “celebratory shot.”

Edward Robinson, also of the 1800 block of South Springfield, was also charged with mob action and aggravated battery, police said.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Korleone Darby, 19, of the 400 block of Grant Place in Aurora, and the two teenage Aurora boys, ages 14 and 15, were each charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm, according to a release from Aurora police.

Darby and the teenage boys are accused of shooting a 16-year-old boy just before 5 p.m. Monday in the 600 block of Woodlawn Avenue in Aurora, police said.

The three were riding bicycles when they approached the 16-year-old near his home, police said. The four exchanged words and the 15-year-old pulled a handgun and shot the 16-year-old three times in the legs.

The 16-year-old was treated at an Aurora hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Darby fled on his bicycle and the two teenagers ran away without their bicycles, police said.

Responding officers took Darby into custody at River and Prairie Streets in Aurora, police said. The two boys were captured at Second and River Streets in Aurora minutes after the shooting.

Darby was in possession of the gun believed to be used in the shooting, police said.

Police believe the shooting is gang-related.

Darby was ordered held on $1 million bond Tuesday, police said. The younger boys are being held at the Kane County Juvenile Center.

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Associate Judge Clint Hull convicted Sedrick A. Ballard, 26, of the 400 block of Forest Street in Kalamazoo, Mich., of three counts of aggravated battery, according to the Kane County State’s Attorney’s office. Ballard had recently lived in Elgin.

Ballard punched his girlfriend’s 5-year-old son three times in the genital area on Nov. 28, 2011 — causing bruising, severe swelling and a laceration, according to the state’s attorney’s office. Ballard was living in the woman’s home at the time.

The boy was taken to Sherman Hospital in Elgin and then to Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, where he remained for four days, according to prosecutors.

Ballard, who waived his right to a jury trial, will be back in court at 1:30 p.m. on May 31 for post-trial motions and sentencing. He faces up to 30 years in prison.

Ballard remains in the Kane County jail, where he has been held on a $700,000 bond, which was revoked upon conviction.

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The shooting happened about 4:30 p.m. Sunday in the 2200 block of South Leavitt Street, police News Affairs Officer Joshua Purkiss said.

Michael Orozco was shot in the chest and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died at 4:56 p.m., authorities said.

Police on the scene radioed a description of the gunman’s vehicle and nearby officers found a vehicle matching the description, taking three males into custody, police said. A weapon was recovered.

Javier Garza, 17, of the 2900 block of North 75th Court in Elmwood Park, was charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery with a firearm, according to police.

Damien Garza, 19, of the 4500 block of South Wood Street, was charged with one count each of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated reckless driving without a license, and cited for operating a motor vehicle without insurance.

Police did not immediately know Tuesday if or how the two were related, but said the suspects and the victim were documented gang members.

Both Garzas are scheduled to appear for bond hearings on Tuesday. A third suspect was released without being charged, police said.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Valentin Lasco, 24, was charged with attempted aggravated criminal sexual assault and three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, all involving victims younger than 13, according to police News Affairs.

He was also charged with four counts of aggravated battery in a public place, police said.

He allegedly fondled young girls on several occasions, which and happened in the Southwest Side Chicago Lawn district between Feb. 24 and April 6, police said.

Lasco, of the 4600 block of South Kedzie Avenue, will appear for a bond hearing Tuesday.

Authorities are asking anyone with information about similar incidents to contact the police department’s Special Investigations Unit at (312) 492-3845.

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One of the officers drew his stun gun, but ended up shooting himself in hand.

Police said the incident began about 7:45 a.m. Sunday when a cab driver called to report customer, who had been picked up in Hanover Park and dropped off at an Elgin apartment building, had failed to pay his fare. The man went into an apartment, but never came back out to pay up, the cabbie said.

Officers located the rider inside the apartment, convinced him to pay the fare and left. Suspicious about the name the man had given to them, they checked a police database of photos and found that the man appeared to match the description of a Glendale Heights man with four outstanding arrest warrants.

Officers returned to the apartment building to arrest him. Before taking him in, they instructed the man — who was naked — to put some clothes on, according to police accounts. That’s when he allegedly tackled one officer to the ground. A second officer drew a stun gun, but it misfired, striking that officer in the hand instead of hitting the suspect.

The man bolted from the apartment, but one of the officers was able to tackle him. Eventually officers subdued the man by using a stun gun on him.

The man, identified as Federico Solarzano, was charged with felony aggravated battery and three felony counts of resisting arrest, plus a misdemeanor charge of obstructing identification. He was taken to Sherman Hospital and later Presence Saint Joseph Hospital, then was taken to the city jail after.

According to reports, two police officers also were treated at Sherman Hospital’s emergency room — one for puncture wounds caused by the stun gun misfire and the other for injuries to his shoulder and hip.

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Just before 1 p.m. Sunday, Lake County Sheriff’s officers responded to call of an injured man on Crawford Road, just south of Route 173 in unincorporated Newport Township, about 5 miles west of Antioch.

A passing motorist saw a man leaving the area with blood on him, and then saw the victim lying in the woods bleeding, according to a statement from sheriff’s police.

Newport Rescue took the victim to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, suffering from a cut throat, bleeding on the brain, slashed eyelids, cut wrists, a dislocated shoulder, and broken tibia and fibia, according to police.

Lake County Sheriff’s Sgt. Sara Balmes said Monday the victim, who is also from Wisconsin, suffered injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.

He was attacked with a “corkscrew bottle opener with a 1-inch knife,” she said.

Sheriff’s deputies saw Michael Highsmith, 24, of Milwaukee, Wis., attempting to drive away from the scene, and he was arrested, Balmes said.

Highsmith told detectives that he had been friends with the victim for more than four years, and that he attacked him to steal his jewelry, Balmes said.

Among the items stolen was a gold a ring, found in Highsmith’s possession, Balmes said. Officers also found a gold necklace at the scene that had been pulled off victim’s neck, and found the victim’s wallet in the vehicle Highsmith was arrested in, she said.

He was charged him with attempted murder, aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and armed robbery, according to police.

Highsmith is being held at the Lake County Jail on a $1 million bond, and his next court appearance is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on May 7 in Waukegan.

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Cameron Griggs, 19, of the 1300 block of N. Hudson, is being held in lieu of $90,000 bail after his arrest Friday for aggravated battery at 15 W. 69th St.

Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Rusch said Griggs was with four other males who attacked two females and a male on the train.

Another man punched one female in the mouth four times, Rusch said, and attacked another female after she pushed the emergency button on the train.

Rusch also said one of the assailants hit a man in the head with a gun before Griggs punched and kicked that man.

He said Griggs was spotted getting onto the train at 47th, and he fled with the other suspects at 69th.

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Robert O’Leary, 50, was charged with nine counts of felony aggravated battery and one count of misdemeanor aggravated assault for the Dec. 21 incident at the Lake Forest Metra station, according to Lake County Asst. State’s Atty. Reginald Mathews.

O’Leary allegedly threw his bicycle while the conductor’s back was turned in retaliation for being ejected from the train, Mathews said. The conductor asked him to exit the train at the next stop, and exited and threw his bike at the conductor, Mathews said.

O’Leary then got into a struggle with Metra employees until Metra police and Lake Forest police responded, Mathews said.

During the struggle, the conductor was banged up and suffered a fractured thumb in the bike attack, Mathews said.

O’Leary pleaded not guilty during arraignment in Lake County Circuit Court on Thursday.

He remains in custody at Lake County Jail on a $10,000 bond, according to jail records.

Another Libertyville man, Matthew Padour, was convicted last month of four counts of aggravated battery for punching a Metra conductor over a fare dispute. Sentencing is April 15.

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WBBM Newsradio’s Bernie Tafoya reports Kareem Green was arrested Tuesday after police said he tried to abduct two 16-year-old girls in separate incidents in late January, as they were walking home from Bolingbrook High School.

In the first incident, he allegedly tried to pull the girl into a blue SUV near Radcliffe Drive and Old Stone Road. A bystander saw the girl trying to get away, and yelled, and the suspect got back in the SUV and fled the scene.

Two days later, Green allegedly followed a girl into an apartment building on Wood Creek Drive and grabbed her. She fought him off and ran into a nearby park.

Police said both girls picked Green out of a lineup.

Green was charged with unlawful restraint, attempted kidnapping, battery, and aggravated battery.

He was being held at the Will County Jail on $500,000 bond.

The decision was made Thursday in the DuPage County courtroom of Judge Kathryn Creswell.

Alexander R. Georg was diagnosed a paranoid schizophrenic, following the Aug. 11, 2011 attack on his mother outside their home on Naperville’s northeast side. He was placed in the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services, and underwent treatment at that agency’s downstate Chester Mental Health Center.

Following the receipt of a psychiatric report, Creswell in October 2012 had found Georg fit to stand trial. However, since then, his behavior made authorities reverse that decision and send Georg back for more treatment.

Georg, 29, is charged with trying to kill his 53-year-old mother outside their second-floor apartment on the 1100 block of Spring Garden Circle, in the Mansions of Naperville area.

He had been released earlier in the day from Linden Oaks Hospital, a mental and emotional health care facility on the campus of Edward Hospital in Naperville. He had undergone treatment there for nearly two weeks.

Police said Georg attacked his mother after she offered to make him a sandwich for lunch. He allegedly grabbed a butcher knife with a 6-inch-long blade and chased her outdoors, stabbing and trying to strangle her and then beating her head against the ground, Naperville police said.

Georg has been charged with a total of six felony counts of attempted murder in the first degree, aggravated battery and aggravated domestic battery.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Lanord Miles allegedly struck a 17-year-old Chicago boy in the head with a gun then fired shots at a man and woman, both 21, about 7 p.m. near Dempster Street and Fowler Avenue, Evanston police said.

Miles, 20, of the 1300 block of McDaniel Avenue in Evanston, was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated battery, Evanston police said.

No weapon was recovered but a shell casing and bullets were found at the scene, according to police.

Miles was ordered held on $100,000 bond and remained in Cook County Jail Tuesday afternoon, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s office. He will be back in court Thursday.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

CHICAGO (CBS) — Lake County prosecutors have finally cleared the name of a man who served 20 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

WBBM Newsradio’s Nancy Harty reports, in May, Bennie Starks was cleared of the rape of a Waukegan woman, but prosecutors had fought to keep his aggravated battery conviction in place until last month, when they agreed to vacate that conviction.

But one more small snafu in court on Monday delayed that official exoneration for a little while longer, due to a mixup about the wording on a court order.

Starks, 53, eventually left court Monday a free man, and with the exoneration he’d been seeking for 26 years – something that had him a bit stunned.

“I don’t even have any words. I’m overwhelmed with joy,” he said.

The Innocence Project helped him gain his freedom after DNA evidence pointed to another man.

Starks served 20 years in prison for the 1986 rape of a 69-year-old woman. He had been free on bond since 2006, while an appeal of his conviction was pending, after DNA evidence pointed to a different suspect.

The Innocence Project began fighting for Starks in 1996 and his remains one of the group’s oldest active cases.

The victim in the case has since died.

A problem with paperwork led to the delay in dropping the battery charge.

Starks’ attorney, Jed Stone, said Lake County has been under a dark cloud of wrongful convictions, and this would not have been possible under former Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Waller.

“Regardless of who the prosecutor was, Bennie is innocent, but because of a new courageous prosecutor, a ray of sunlight has cracked through that cloud,” Stone said.

In a previous statement, newly elected Lake County State’s Attorney Mike Nerheim, said dismissing the charges against Starks was not a reflection of whether he’s guilty, and that – among other things – he has served longer in prison that he would get at a future trial.

Waller had fought to preserve Starks’ aggravated battery conviction, even after the rape charge was dropped, but Nerheim agreed to vacate the aggravated battery conviction after being elected in November.

Now that his name has been completely cleared, and a judge has released him from the conditions of his 2006 bond, Starks said he’s looking forward to the future.

“I mean, the sky’s the limit. … Every day is a new day,” he said. “Just getting back to just normal things, you know? … Not having to come back here anymore.”

Starks does not have a job, but he hopes his now-clean record will make it easier to get one. For years, he worked a meat-processing job in prison.

Longtime friend Wesley Simpson of Waukegan said he never believed Starks committed any crimes.

“I knew he didn’t do it from the beginning. He’s not that kind of guy — never has been,” Simpson told reporters.

Alexander Cachinero-Gorman, 30, of Little Village, was arrested Monday night and charged with one count of aggravated battery, Cook County Sheriff’s office spokesman Frank Bilecki said.

On Wednesday, Judge Donald Panarese ordered Cachinero-Gorman held on a $10,000 bond, Cook County State’s Attorney’s office spokesman Andy Conklin said.

Bilecki said Cachinero-Gorman posted the required $1,000 bond and will be released Wednesday night.

Cachinero-Gorman was one of about 50 protesters who gathered in front of the Leighton Criminal Court Building in the 2600 block of South California Avenue about 7:15 p.m. Monday to protest “the jailing of people,” Bilecki said.

The demonstrators marched up and down California Avenue chanting, “Free the people,” playing musical instruments and banging pots and pans to try to get inmates’ attention, Bilecki said.

The protestors turned onto 31st Street and began violently shaking a perimeter fence outside Building 1, a pre-release facility on the jail complex, Bilecki said. Police stepped between the group and the fence and Cachinero-Gorman allegedly hit a correctional officer in the face with a large stick or tree branch with a black flag tied to the end of it.

Cachinero-Gorman, a Spanish national, was arrested without incident, Bilecki said.

The branch left large scratches on the officer’s face, but he did not have to be taken to a hospital.

The protest later dissipated after the group marched back to the criminal court building, Bilecki said. The group did not claim any affiliation with other larger protest groups.

However, Occupy Chicago issued a statement Wednesday calling the charges “bogus.” The group claims the protest turned “unnecessarily violent when Cook County sheriffs attacked protesters.”

Occupy Chicago noted prisoner support groups also demonstrated at the Metropolitan Corrections Center and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement buildings without incident earlier that day.

Cachinero-Groman will face a preliminary hearing Jan. 7 in West Felony court at 3150 W. Flournoy St.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Arnold Ward, 30, of the 800 block of West Montrose Avenue, was charged with a felony count of aggravated battery to a transit authority worker, police News Affairs Officer Michael Sullivan said.

Ward allegedly punched the driver while he was operating the CTA bus causing him to crash into the parked vehicle at 3:22 p.m. in the 3400 block of West Montrose Avenue, Sullivan said.

The driver was taken to Swedish Covenant Hospital with injuries to his back and right shoulder as well as abrasions to his head.

Ward is expected Tuesday in bond court.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

CHICAGO (CBS) – Sentencing was delayed Thursday for a father convicted of aggravated battery for taping over his 22-month-old daughter’s mouth and binding her hands with tape, after the man’s defense attorney asked the judge for a new trial.

CBS 2’s Susanna Song reports 22-year-old Andre Curry was scheduled to be sentenced for aggravated battery and aggravated domestic battery at a hearing on Thursday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, but defense attorney Sam Adam Jr. first filed a motion for a new trial.

The judge will rule on the request on Dec. 31.

Following a bench trial earlier this month, a Cook County judge cleared Curry of a charge of unlawful restraint, but convicted him of aggravated domestic battery and aggravated battery. He faces up to 7 years in prison if a new trial is not granted..

Although Curry has admitted placing tape over his daughter’s mouth and binding her arms and legs, his defense attorney there’s nothing criminal about Curry’s actions. Adam said it would do more harm than good if Curry goes to prison for what he did.

“How does this help? How does giving a man a Class 2 felony for doing something that was certainly stupid, but no one was hurt, and the child now is the one who’s gonna suffer?” Adam said.

Adam said keeping the felony convictions in place for Curry would make it virtually impossible for him to get a decent job, and likely would prompt the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to require Curry to have supervised visits with his daughter.

“The whole situation just does not help anybody. The truth of the matter is what’s gonna happen is you, you, you and me are going to end up taking care of the baby, because this man is unemployable once this happens,” Adam said.

The widely viewed photo of Curry’s duct-taped daughter, and its caption – “This is wut happens wen my baby hits me back” – inspired outrage and prompted the criminal charges.

Earlier this year, Curry sat down with CBS 2’s Dorothy Tucker to talk about the incident. He showed off cell phone video of him reuniting with his daughter two months after the incident.

Tearful and remorseful, Curry said he wasn’t trying to hurt his daughter, and didn’t think about the consequences of his actions.

“I wasn’t thinking about it at the time. I wish I would have thought about it,” Curry said in March.

Curry said he was just playing with his 22-month-old daughter.

“I was just trying to keep my daughter’s laughs coming. I was so in daddy mode just to please her. I didn’t think about how wrong it would look from other peoples’ perspective,” he says. “But now when I look back, that does look like she was hurt.”

Curry, who is currently living in Minnesota, said he regrets what he did.

CHICAGO (CBS) – A 28-year-old southwest side man was still in the hospital Saturday — as a judge set bond at $150,000 for charges stemming from his Thanksgiving Day attack on a CTA bus driver, its passengers and police officers.

An officer shot the suspect, Ismael Jamison, during the confrontation near 63rd Street and California Avenue.

Ismael Jamison, of the 6600 block of South Sacramento Avenue, remained at Christ Hospital, in Oak Lawn, at the time of his scheduled appearance Saturday in Central Bond Court on charges of aggravated battery to a transit employee and rider, aggravated assault to a police officer and resisting arrest.

The driver of the 94/California bus was able to curb the vehicle as the man began to beat him. At that point, another passenger got off of the bus and flagged down a passing police car.

When Jamison spotted the officer, he allegedly took off some of his clothing and flailed his arms in a threatening manner, despite being ordered to stop. Instead, he allegedly charged at the officer, who then fired his gun, wounding Jamison.

Prosecutors said that other officers responding to the scene had to Taser Jamison twice after that to subdue him.

Jamison has five felony convictions on his record. Illinois Deptartment of Corrections records indicate that Jamison was paroled most recently in early October after serving three years of a seven-year sentence for aggravated battery to a police officer. He also has served time for attempted carjacking.

Jamison’s next court date is Thursday.

Michael Cardamone, 35, of Oswego pleaded guilty to seven counts of aggravated battery, seven counts of unlawful restraint, and one count of perjury, a release from the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s office said.

Judge Blanche Fawell sentenced him to 10 years in prison, but with day-for-day sentencing and credit for more than five years spent in jail, Cardamone will not have to serve more prison time, the release said.

Cardamone was arrested on Dec. 4, 2002, when a former student at family-owned American Institute of Gymnastics & Preschool in Aurora disclosed to her parents that he had touched her inappropriately. An investigation revealed that he had similar contact with other girls he coached from 1999-2002, prosecutors said. The girls ranged in age from 7 to 14.

On Dec. 5, 2005, Cardamone was sentenced to 20 years after a jury found him guilty of abusing seven girls during gymnastics lessons. But the conviction was overturned on appeal.

Cardamone will be required to register under the Violent Offenders Against Youth Act for 10 years.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Late Sunday afternoon, 78-year-old George Williamson was sitting at his desk in his home in Orland Park when his son approached and began to choke him, according to a release from the Cook County Sheriff’s office.

A struggle ensued and both men fell to the floor, where Mark Williamson, held his father to the ground from behind and began to strike his face against the ceramic floor, a release from the sheriff’s office said. The force of the blows caused significant injuries to his face, neck and head.

Mark Williamson then left the home without seeking medical attention for his father, who was able call for help, the release said. He was taken to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox.

Two days later, the elder Williamson called police from his hospital bed allowed them to search his home in the 9200 block of West 143rd Street.

In the basement of the home, officers found Mark Williamson allegedly “huffing” a can of compressed air. He was arrested without incident and charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery, the release said.

His next hearing is Nov. 29 in Bridgeview.

After a brief bench trial last week, Cook County Judge Lawrence Flood cleared Andre Curry of unlawful restraint.

But on Thursday the judge said prosecutors proved that the child was restrained with tape, obstructing her nose, which falls under the legal definition of domestic battery, the Sun-Times is reporting.

Curry was convicted of aggravated domestic battery and aggravated battery. He faces up to 7 years in prison when he is sentenced later this month, but could receive probation.

Curry’s attorney, Sam Adam Jr., said his client meant no harm when he put the blue adhesive tape on his toddler’s mouth, ankles and hands at his sister’s South Side apartment last year.

Curry’s sister said her niece was laughing when her father playfully taped her.

But the judge admonished Curry for using the child as a “prop or a toy” in an attempt to express humor.

Curry is currently living in Minnesota and is free on bond.

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Cook County Circuit Judge Lawrence Flood acquitted the 22-year-old father of one charge after a bench trial. The Chicago Tribune reports Flood later said he wanted more time to study domestic battery laws before issuing a verdict on that charge on Nov. 8.

Andre Curry, who did not testify on his own behalf, has said he and his daughter were playing on Dec. 13 and that he took the photo without thinking. Defense attorney Sam Adam Jr. argued the child was never in danger.

The posting on Facebook showed the girl’s wrists, ankles and mouth bound with tape and a note that read, “This is wut happens wen my baby hits me back,” and a smiley face.

Three witnesses testified during the trial, including Chicago Police Det. Charles Hollendoner, who said he interviewed Curry twice in the days after the incident, and the father insisted the whole thing was meant to be a joke.

“He said he was just playing with the child and didn’t mean any harm,” Hollendoner said. “He said the child was only taped up for a maximum of 30 seconds.”

His sister, Annastasia Curry, testified she was cooking dinner and could hear Curry and her niece laughing in the living room. She testified she went out to check on them at one point and saw the little girl covered with tape.

“She was laughing; he was laughing,” the sister said. “I saw him take the tape off, and I went back in the kitchen.”

Cook County prosecutors contend that by placing the tape over the girl’s mouth, Curry obstructed her breathing and committed a battery. Prosecutors did not present evidence the child was injured.

Defense attorney Sam Adam Jr. told the judge Curry is a good father who was just being playful.

“Was this something stupid to do? No question about it,” Adam said. “But they’re asking you to find him guilty of some very serious charges.”

Curry, who can have only supervised visits with the child, could face up to seven years in prison if convicted on the aggravated battery charge.

The girl’s mother, Yesmin Doss, has said she supports Curry.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The two victims, ages 13 and 14, were playing football on the street in the 10800 block of South Eggleston Avenue about 5:25 p.m. on Thursday, police said.

That’s when 19-year-old Walter White allegedly exited an alley and started shooting in the direction of the two, according to police.

Both victims suffered gunshot wounds to their abdomens and were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in serious condition, according to police.

Witnesses provided police with a description and details of the incident and White was taken into custody a short time later.

White, of the 11000 block of South Parnell Avenue, was charged early Saturday with two counts of aggravated battery/discharge of a firearm. Bond was set at $200,000 at a hearing Saturday at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse at 26th and California.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

DuPage County Sheriff’s police say around 12:25 p.m. Thursday, a woman reported that she had been attacked by someone wearing a clown mask.

The woman said she was getting out of her car in the 3-N-400 block of Center Court in unincorporated Addison, when the masked man tried to restrain her. She struggled with him, and he fled, police said.

The attack was captured on video, and police later arrested Luis D. Barajas, of the 200 block of Michael Lane in Addison.

Barajas was charged with one count each of aggravated battery, unlawful restraint, and obstructing justice – all felonies – and two misdemeanor charges.

He was expected in bond court Friday afternoon.

Police believe the attack was an isolated incident.

Cook County Judge Kenneth Wadas on Thursday convicted Adekunle Adefeyinti, 42, of Chicago, of two counts of aggravated battery and leaving the scene of an accident following a bench trial, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office announced.

Adefeyiniti injured the 16-year-old girl while fleeing in his Hummer to avoid payment on June 12, 2011, the state’s attorney’s office said. The girl was left with numerous injuries — including having part of her scalp ripped off and facial nerve damage.

Prosecutors said Adefeyinti picked up the girl in his work limousine and drove her to his place of employment, where he got his personal black Hummer and the two had sex for an agreed fee of $150.

He then drove to a bank, where he asked the girl to use his wife’s ATM card to withdraw money, prosecutors said. The girl refused and Adefeyinti drove to another bank, where the girl got out of the vehicle to smoke a cigarette while he went inside.

Prosecutors said Adefeyinti exited the bank, entered the vehicle and drove off as the girl was attempting to get back inside the Hummer. He then swerved to put the girl into the path of a parked vehicle.

The girl woke up with cuts and abrasions on her body, and parts of her scalp ripped from her head, prosecutors said. She eventually made it to a CTA Brown Line station, where authorities took her to an area hospital.

The girl made note of the Hummer’s license plate while smoking outside the second bank, and police arrested Adefeyinti, who the girl identified in a photo lineup, the state’s attorney’s office said.

He faces up to 14 years in prison when sentenced on Sept. 17.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

CHICAGO (STMW)–A Humboldt Park woman was ordered held on $200,000 bond Monday for allegedly driving an SUV over a man during a Friday night gang fight on the Northwest Side.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

CHICAGO (CBS) — A 21-year-old man has been charged with attacking a woman who was jogging in the Old Town Triangle neighborhood on Sunday.

Police said the woman was jogging in the 300 block of West Menomonee Street at about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, when a man grabbed her and dragged her into an alley.

When the victim screamed, the man threatened to kill her if she wasn’t quiet, but she continued struggling to get free and screaming to get someone’s attention.

The attacker was holding a knife, and as the two struggled, she suffered several cuts and other injuries.

Eventually, two other joggers passed by the alley and the attacker fled the scene, but police officers patrolling nearby caught him minutes later, in the courtyard of a nearby apartment building.

The victim identified her attacker and the suspect, 21-year-old Germaine Walker, of the 1300 block of North Hudson Avenue, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and one count of aggravated unlawful restraint.

He was due for a bond hearing Monday afternoon.

About 2:50 a.m. Saturday, a woman exited her home in the 6300 block of South Wolcott Avenue and saw a man holding her 31-year-old boyfriend at gunpoint, a release from police News Affairs said.

The woman pleaded with the man not to shoot her boyfriend. When the man holding her boyfriend at gunpoint removed the gun from his head, the victim started to run into the home, at which time the gunman opened fire, striking him multiple times in the back, police said. The offender then fled the area.

The victim was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County in critical condition at that time. The victim is expected to survive, police said Sunday. The suspect, Christopher Boyd, 30, was positively identified following interviews of the victim’s girlfriend, according to police.

Later Saturday police received information from a concerned citizen that a person wanted for this shooting was hiding in a home in the 6300 block of South Wolcott. Police contacted residents of that building, who consented for police to enter the premises to search for the suspect, the release said. During the search, police could hear movement above them in the attic and observed paint chips falling from the ceiling.

Police entered the attic and saw Boyd lying down on the attic floor. He was told to exit the attic which he did, and was placed into custody as soon as he was out of the attic.

Police say it was through the combination of citizen cooperation and police work by the Englewood District Mission Team that investigators were able to apprehend a dangerous offender.

Boyd, of the 6400 block of South Wood Street, was charged with one count of aggravated battery/discharge of a firearm, the release said. He was denied bond at a hearing Sunday.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Police arrested Modesto Rosales and Jaime Zarate after a brief foot chase outside Rosales’ home early Saturday morning.

Elgin Police Lt. Dan O’Shea says the female victim identified Modesto and officers went to his last known address.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Nancy Harty reports

The pair allegedly broke into a home in the 400 block of Raymond Street at about 3:20 a.m. on Saturday, and beat the 20-year-old woman and 25-year-old man inside, but didn’t take anything.

O’Shea says Rosales and Zarate used an iron to beat the male victim, leaving him with extensive facial injuries.

The Chicago Tribune reports Rosales and the female victim have a 5-year-old child together, who witnessed the attack but wasn’t injured.

O’Shea would only say that Rosales and the woman used to date.

Rosales and Zarate – who were already on parole – have been charged with aggravated battery and home invasion.

They were due in bond court this morning.

CHICAGO (CBS) – Eight teenagers have been charged with mob action, after four people were hurt in at least three mob attacks in and near downtown over the weekend.

CBS 2’s Mai Martinez reports the most recent attack happened Sunday night in the 800 block of North Dewitt Place in the Gold Coast neighborhood.

A 36-year-old man was walking home from work around 10 p.m. Sunday, when police say he was robbed and attacked by anywhere from 10 to 20 people. The man was taken to the hospital with a head injury, but he was able to walk on his own after the attack.

People living in and near downtown said it seems like every year, when schools let out for the summer, they see an increase in these kinds of mob attacks by teenagers. What they want to see now is a greater police presence on the streets.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Bernie Tafoya reports

Streeterville resident Thomas Traub said when he heard about the Sunday night attack in the neighboring Gold Coast neighborhood, he was “shocked.”

“Things like that don’t happen in this neighborhood, and they shouldn’t happen,” he said. “I’m wondering where all the police are.”

The victim from Sunday’s attack told police had no idea why he was targeted.

The randomness of the attack had many people living in the area worried about their own safety.

“I might be hurt. My wife might get hurt,” Traub said.

Police said Sunday’s victim was not robbed, but at least two other victims were robbed during attacks and muggings downtown on Saturday.

When a group of people attacked two men in the 500 block of North State Street shortly before 10 p.m., one victim was left with a broken jaw, the other suffered a cut lip.

The suspected muggers were in a group that fled southbound after the attacks, Mirabelli said, but officers were able to catch up to the group on Kinzie Street between State Street and Wabash Avenue. Ten people were arrested.

Mitchell Cordarrowe, 18, is charged with mob action and aggravated battery, for a mob attack on two men in the 500 block of North State Street on June 9, 2012. Seven other teens were charged as juveniles. (Credit: Chicago Police)

One adult – 18-year-old Mitchell Coradarrowe, of the 5900 block of South Indiana Avenue – was charged with felony mob action and aggravated battery. Seven others, ages 13 to 16, were charged as juveniles with felony mob action.

A second attack reportedly happened about 10:30 p.m. Saturday at the State/Lake Red Line subway station, when a mob attacked a couple near the Chicago Theatre. No one was arrested in that attack.

Speaking on the CBS 2 Morning News Monday, police Supt. Garry McCarthy emphasized that police have a strategy for dealing with mob attacks.

“We break them up. There are things that we can do. We use the broken windows theory, which is taking care of the little things prevents the big things. And again, I want to differentiate the gunfire that’s been happening – the gang-related violence – from anything that’s happening downtown as far as robberies go,” he said.

The arrests in Saturday’s first attack did little to provide comfort for many people living downtown, who said more needs to be done to curb the violence.

One woman, who asked that her name not be used, said there are times she’s afraid to walk in Streeterville. She said mob-style attacks are especially troubling for people who walk alone.

“It definitely can escalate quickly if you even dare talk back, or put up any sort of resistance with that mob mentality,” she said. “You’re outnumbered. It’s just not wise.”

Traub said he’s feel safer if there was more of a police presence in the neighborhood.

“For the time being, a policeman on every corner,” he said.

McCarthy said there were similar mob attacks last summer, and his department was able to get the problem under control. He said he believes they’ll be able to do it again this year, and it’s a matter of making sure his officers are where they’re supposed to be, to prevent these incidents from happening.

A handful of other incidents were also reported over the weekend. Just before 9 p.m. Saturday, a “large fight” broke out in front of the John Hancock building, police said. No injuries were reported, and officers made no arrests.

On Sunday, police swarmed to the North Avenue Beach after reports of fighting. Police say a small fight escalated into a larger one around 6 p.m.

The beach was closed soon afterward. At the time, there were no lifeguards on duty.

The latest incidents bring back some bad memories for Chicagoans from around this time last year, when series of mob attacks in and around the downtown area left several people injured.

Among the most high-profile incidents were a pair of attacks by mobs in Streeterville – one on a man who was parking his scooter in the 300 block of East Chicago Avenue, the other of whom was assaulted while riding his bicycle at Lake Shore Drive and Huron Street.

Less than a week later, two teens were attacked by a large mob of teens at Chicago and Wabash avenues in a fight that began at the Oak Street Beach. The attack shocked and terrified many people on the street corner.

Also last summer, the developmentally disabled brother of Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan was attacked by a mob while riding the CTA Red Line subway near Chicago Avenue.

Violent attacks by teen mobs also made headlines elsewhere in the country last year. In one headline-grabbing incident, 24 teens were arrested after violent mob attacks marred the Wisconsin State Fair in suburban Milwaukee.

Randy Swopes, 52, represented himself in court Friday to accept a plea deal that sentenced him to 24 months of probation and 250 hours of public service for the January 2008 incident, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Danielle Pascucci.

Swopes’ son was 14 at the time of the incident. The teenager has Crohn’s Disease, which is an autoimmune disorder in which the body’s immune system destroys healthy tissue, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Crohn’s Disease affects the gastrointestinal tract and can cause fevers, stomach pain and other problems depending on which part of the gastrointestinal system is affected.

Swopes’ son was suffering from a fistula at the time of the offense. A fistula is an abnormal connection between an organ and another structure.

The teenage boy had a fistula in his butt and his father opted to sew it shut himself rather than take his son to the hospital, Pascucci said. The 14-year-old wound up in the hospital for almost a month because the wound became infected, she said.

Swopes was charged with aggravated battery and could have spent two to five years in prison for this offense. He took an Alford plea, which admits that there is enough evidence to convict but is not a direct admission of guilt, Pascucci said.

© Sun-Times Media Wire Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Kim P. Brandmire was charged with aggravated battery in the attempted strangulation of the woman, plus two counts of battery and a count of solicitation, all stemming from an incident Sunday, police said.

Officers were called to the Quality Inn, 500 Tollgate Rd. in Elgin, at 9:30 p.m. and a 41-year-old Elgin woman said the two had rented a room at the motel Thursday and Brandmire had paid her to have sex in excess of 30 times in ensuing days.

When she refused to have sex Sunday, police said, Brandmire grabbed the woman by the throat and choked her, police said,

The woman was charged with prostitution, a misdemeanor. Bail for Brandmire was set at $75,000.

© Sun-Times Media Wire Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

As WBBM Newsradio’s Dave Berner reports, Anita Joost, 46, is charged with aggravated battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Dave Berner reports

Police say Joost’s 16-year-old daughter was having a disagreement with another girl, 15, and they set up a fight at a local park.

Police say Joost drove her daughter to the park and urged the girl to “kick her ass.” Police say she videotaped and took photos as her daughter proceeded to hit the other girl and pull her hair, causing the other girl’s mouth to bleed.

When at first the rival girls were only talking to each other, police said, Joost — watching from a nearby car — called another girl standing near her daughter and said, “Tell her that enough’s enough. Either kick her ass or let’s go home.”

Police allege that after that beating, Joost drove her daughter to a nearby house and encouraged her to begin another fight, which was aborted when the owners of that home came outside and ordered the Joosts to leave.

“Parents are supposed to teach their kids how to follow rules, be good citizens. Parents should not teach kids how to commit felonies,” Elgin Police Cmdr. Glenn Theriault said.

Police said the events at the park were recorded on cellphone video by the victim’s friends, and police pursued charges after seeing the footage.

The 15-year-old girl who was beaten tells CBS 2’s Mai Martinez she is shocked that the other girl’s mother would be involved.

“I thought it was ridiculous because a mother shouldn’t be recording it or be there. She should be stopping it from happening,” the girl said Friday.

The victim’s mother was too upset to talk about what happened on camera, but she said she’s glad Elgin police are taking the matter seriously.

So are other parents who live in the area.

“It’s just disturbing that a mom would egg her child on to do this and then record it like you’re proud of it,” Jenni Betancourt said.

A judge Thursday ordered Joost held in lieu of $50,000 bond.

Police said Joost’s daughter also has been charged with aggravated battery and has been taken to the Kane County Youth Home pending juvenile court action.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

CHICAGO (CBS) – A judge has denied bond for a 20-year-old man charged with shooting and trying to kill a Chicago Police officer earlier this week in the South Chicago neighborhood.

Paris Sadler, of the 8400 block of South Kingston Avenue, was charged Wednesday night with attempted murder of a police officer, attempted murder with a firearm and aggravated battery with a firearm. Sadler is accused of shooting South Chicago District tactical officer Del Pearson in the chest during a chase a block away from Sadler’s home on Monday.

CBS 2′s Mike Puccinelli reports Sadler was denied bond at a hearing on Thursday.

Pearson, 47, survived the shooting despite being shot just above his protective vest and losing nearly two-thirds of his blood, and police said he owes his life to two of his quick-thinking colleagues.

Pearson was shot in the chest Monday night while chasing a suspect into an alley in the 8500 block of South Kingston Avenue.

“Officer Pearson was in grave danger of dying on Monday evening,” police Supt. Garry McCarthy said. “In fact, the doctors told us that he had lost two-thirds of his blood in his body.”

Pearson has been with the department for eight years. He and his partner were trying to stop and talk with four curfew violators in the 8500 block of South Kingston Avenue around 10:40 p.m. Monday, when one of them fled into an alley.

According to court documents, Sadler was walking with three other men when police pulled up to talk to them. The other three men with Sadler stopped and put up their hands, but Sadler grabbed his waistband and fled and Pearson chased him toward the corner of 85th and Kingston.

Pearson warned his fellow officers that Sadler had a gun and ordered Sadler to drop the weapon, but Sadler fled into an alley, according to court documents.

Sadler then ran into a vacant lot and onto the porch of a friend’s house at 8430 S. Kingston Av. and tried to get inside. He shouted at his friend to let him in, and tried to reach around the security bars to open the door himself, but could not and his friend refused to let him in, court records state.

While Sadler was on the porch, Pearson caught up with him, and Sadler shot him twice, once in the shoulder and once in his protective vest. The bullet that struck him in the shoulder severed a main artery and lodged in his neck, near his spine.

Sadler then fled the scene as Pearson fired shots at him.

Prosecutors said after Sadler shot Pearson, he ran home and hid the .38-caliber handgun he had used in a hole in the wall behind a bathtub in his basement, then removed his clothes. But police quickly tracked him to his home and found both the gun and the shirt he was wearing when he allegedly shot Pearson.

Police also recovered a bullet from Pearson’s protective vest.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio’s Bob Roberts reports

“We have significant evidence. We have significant ballistics evidence. We have significant statements, that all play into the charging of this particular individual,” Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said Wednesday. “It’s a very, very, very solid case.”

Police said he has posted numerous Facebook photos and messages associating himself with the street gang known as the Every Body Killers.

On his Facebook profile, he goes by the name “Pistol P.”

McCarthy had a message for Sadler’s fellow gang members.

“For those guys, we’re coming. That’s what it boils down to: we’re coming,” McCarthy said. “And as far as the rest of them are concerned, the answer is real simple: put down the guns, because we’re not going to tolerate this behavior.”

CBS 2’s Susanna Song reports in announcing the charges, McCarthy also thanked the quick thinking of two fellow tactical officers for saving Pearson’s life.

Chicago Police Officer Del Pearson was critically injured when he was shot in the chest while chasing a suspect in the South Chicago neighborhood on March 19, 2012. (Credit: Chicago Police)

The officers didn’t wait for an ambulance. Instead, they put him in their squad car and raced him to a hospital themselves.

“He looked very pale, and he was covered in wet blood. And I immediately said there is no way he can wait for an ambulance,” said Officer Christopher Kapa, who was driving the squad car. “So I said, ‘Officer Lund, help me get him in the back seat,’ we pulled him into the back seat of my unmarked squad, and took off for the hospital.”

Officer Kirsten Lund was in the back seat with Pearson, trying to keep him awake and conscious, and letting him know what was happening.

Pearson survived a seven-hour surgery at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. But police said his prognosis was good and he was interacting with his family at the hospital on Wednesday, and was reportedly joking with colleagues.

Although the bullet had lodged near his spine, sources said Pearson was able to move all his extremities and was responding to his family’s voices.

McCarthy was with Pearson’s family Wednesday night, and said they couldn’t be happier that he is doing well, and that the alleged shooter has been charged.

Lynell Porch, a Calumet Park patrolman since 2007, was charged last year with aggravated battery, filing a false police report and official misconduct, all Class 3 felonies, authorities said.

On Monday, Judge James Linn found Porch, 40, not guilty during a bench trial.

The alleged incident happened June 16, 2010, when Porch and a partner responded to a call of drug activity at a car wash near 127th and Laflin, authorities said.

Now a senior at Shepard High School in Palos Heights, Cameron Foreman and two of his friends testified against Porch during the first day of his bench trial last year. He testified that he was helplessly handcuffed behind his back and knocked down face first for no reason by Porch.

Prosecutors said Porch, a Calumet Park officer since 2007, falsified police reports in saying that Foreman obstructed justice and resisted arrest by pulling away from him. They also claimed he falsely claimed that Foreman, then 16, suffered a cut cheek in falling after breaking loose from Porch during a struggle, according to prosecutors.

The victim suffered a large abrasion to his face, cuts and bruises to his shoulder and knee, and a broken tooth, prosecutors said.

Surveillance video later showed Porch removing the victim from his squad car by grabbing his throat after transporting him back to the Calumet Park Police Station, then pushing him onto a bench in the booking room, authorities said.

After the attack, Porch filed reports claiming the victim resisted arrest and the injuries were the result of him tripping when he broke free and attempted to run.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Patricia Washington, 44, of the 6000 block of North Ridge Avenue, was charged with one count of aggravated battery to a transit employee, according to a police News Affairs release.

Police said Washington began arguing with the bus driver about an expired fare card about 6 p.m. Friday and became irate and began screaming. Before she got off the bus she threw a liquid — believed to be rubbing alcohol — in the driver’s face near West Harrison Street and South Damen Avenue.

The driver, a man, chased after the passenger and detained her until police arrived.

On Sunday, Washington was ordered held on $75,000 bond, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s office’s website. She will next appear in court March 14.

The woman is believed to have suffered scrapes, while the driver suffered an eye injury, police said. Both were taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County for a medical evaluation, where the CTA driver was treated and released.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

CBS 2 reports the girl is charged with felony aggravated battery in the Tuesday morning incident. As she is a juvenile, her name is not being released.

Around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, two female students got into a fight inside the school, and one stabbed the other with a pair of scissors.

The victim was taken from the school, at 7740 S. Ingleside Ave., to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. The girl was initially reported in critical condition, but her condition had stabilized by late Tuesday morning.

Senior Brandon Shelvin said he saw the accused stabber being led away by security guards.

“The one girl who did the stabbing, she had scratches on her arm, scratches on her face,” Shelvin said.

In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Chicago Public Schools officials said, “We are working closely with both CPD in their investigation of this incident and the principal to keep parents informed of the situation and ensure them that all appropriate steps have been taken to provide a safe environment for students remaining at the school.”

Andre Miles, 35, of the 10500 block of South Maryland Avenue, was charged with one count each of felony attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery by discharge of a firearm, police said. Miles was denied bond at a Sunday hearing, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s office.

The shooting he is charged in connection with happened Friday, police said. Calumet District police officers responded about 4:35 p.m. to a call of “information for the police” in the 100 block of West 103rd Street following an earlier shots fired call at that location.

Two responding officers proceeded to the rear of the location — and were shot at, police said. One of the officers was struck in his bullet-resistant vest and arm. The 41-year-old officer, a seven-year veteran assigned to the Calumet District, was taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said multiple weapons were recovered inside the West 103rd Street residence.

A 16-year-old boy was also charged with felony aggravated battery to a police officer, police said.

Miles’ next court date is Tuesday.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Stefaniak suspended one year of the sentence for Melissa Ramos Johnson, 29, who admitted she assaulted her son Elijah throughout the day on April 21, 2010 at a home in the 3800 block of Elm Street, East Chicago.

Johnson slapped the child, causing him to fall and hit his head on the coffee table. Throughout the day she whipped him on the buttocks and struck him with a house shoe on the butt.

The child suffered severe head injuries and spent months in a rehabilitation hospital. Elijah has permanent brain damage as a result of the attack.

Johnson also admitted she failed to get the baby prompt medical care.

Deputy prosecutor Michelle Jatkiewicz argued for the maximum 20-year sentence and called the crime “a senseless, brutal attack on a child.” Johnson was on probation at the time for burglary and robbery in Georgia.

Defense attorney Samuel Vazanellis noted his client had an undiagnosed mental illness and is deeply remorseful for her actions. Vazanellis also cited his client’s strong family support, as evidenced by several letters written on her behalf and a petition circulated by fellow church members.

Fourteen other charges were dismissed under terms of the plea agreement.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Cortez Ross, of the 4300 block of South Champlain Avenue, was charged Tuesday with three counts of attempted first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery, police said.

A Cook County judge ordered Ross held without bail at a bond hearing on Wednesday.

Ross is accused of shooting a Chicago Police officer in the hand while attempting to flee from police Sunday afternoon in the South Shore neighborhood.

Calumet Area gang officers responded at 3:56 p.m. to a report of a person with a gun in the 6800 block of South Stony Island Avenue and approached a suspect to investigate, according to a police statement.

The suspect ran away and officers pursued him into the 6700 block of South East End Avenue, where a struggle ensued between the suspect and one of the officers, police said. During the struggle, the suspect pulled a gun and shot an officer.

Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat Camden said officers then shot the suspect three times.

A police vehicle took the wounded officer to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in good condition with a gunshot wound to the hand, authorities said.

The 35-year-old officer is an eight-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department and is assigned to the Calumet Area gang section.

Paramedics took the suspect to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County in serious condition, Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said.

Camden said a female officer from the three-person, unmarked police car ran down the suspect and tackled him. She was examined checked out on the scene for possible injuries.

Police recovered a weapon on the scene, and Calumet Area detectives and the Independent Police Review Authority is investigating.

(The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.)

The 15-year-old boy was arrested Monday night and charged as a juvenile with one count of robbery and one count of aggravated battery, police said.

According to the Chicago Tribune, he appeared in Juvenile Court on Tuesday with the other six juveniles charged in the attack. All were placed on electronic monitoring, confined to their homes and forbidden from using cell phones, according to the Tribune.

The attack was recorded with a cell phone camera and posted on YouTube.

The oldest suspect, Raymond Palomino, 17, was charged as an adult and remained in Cook County Jail on Tuesday, held on $100,000 bond, according to jail records. He also was charged with robbery and aggravated battery.

Police have said they were able to make quick arrests in the case due in large part to the fact the suspects videotaped themselves and posted the video on YouTube, prompting a good deal of cooperation from the community, as well as the parents of some of the suspects.

Palomino’s father, a Cook County Sheriff’s deputy, turned him in to police after learning of his son’s involvement in the attack in the 2800 block of South Princeton Avenue on Jan. 15.

Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said it was a clear example that such behavior would not be tolerated.

“We got a lot of cooperation from a number of the parents in this case. We’ve got a ton of cooperation from the community,” McCarthy added. “The outrage that everybody has showed as a result of this can be the positive that comes out of it. And the message is really simple. This isn’t able to be tolerated.”

Palomino’s father, Michael Palomino, said he is distraught over his son’s actions.

“I just feel bad,” Michael Palomino said.

Michael Palomino said he found out through neighbors that his son was involved in the vicious attack.

“I’m upset about what happened, you know, what all this turned out to be,” Michael Palomino said. “You know, it’s really hurting me.”

Raymond Palomino’s attorneys have said the family cannot afford to bail him out of jail. His father does not have the money, given that seven people live in his home. The boy’s mother is also in jail, attorneys said.

Police said the attack was an act of retaliation over a previous dispute involving the attackers and the victim last October.

The video shows the other teens chasing and surrounding the 17-year-old boy, who is clad in red sweatpants, and relentlessly attacking him. They drag him, only to punch and kick him some more. He was punched and kicked repeatedly in the face.

Palomino is clearly seen in the video. After removing the victim’s gloves, Palomino pounds the boy and whacks him with a shoe.

He tries to grab the victim’s backpack, and later, flips him over and holds him while another suspect kicks him.

Some of the assailants also hit the boy with chunks of ice and choked him. Finally, he lies there helpless as he was beaten.

It went on for 3 minutes and 39 seconds, as an accomplice shot the video.

The boy was eventually able to escape and run away. He was treated for cuts and bruises at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center.

The boy was robbed of his gym shoes, wallet and money, police said. The suspects threw the boy’s wallet in the sewer, prosecutors said.