Man charged with unlawfully acquiring Vicodin; Shorewood police seeking assistance from dentists, physicians

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July 26

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow and Shorewood Police Chief Robert Puleo announced today that a Joliet man alleged to have obtained prescriptions for Vicodin from local dentists has been charged with two counts of unlawful acquisition of a controlled substance.

Keith Alan Richards, 35, of the 900 block of Summit Street, Joliet, was arrested by Shorewood Police on Tuesday and booked into the Will County Jail. He appeared in court Wednesday afternoon. Bail was set at $25,000. He must post 10 percent or $2,500 to secure his release while awaiting trial.

The charges are Class 4 felonies that carry a prison sentence of 1-3 years upon conviction.

The charges allege that Richards used false information to acquire possession of a substance containing Hydrocodone, which is the pharmaceutical name for Vicodin.

Shorewood detectives quickly opened an investigation late Friday after receiving information from a local dentist’s office whose staff had become suspicious of a patient who complained of severe toothache pains and requested a prescription for Vicodin.

Shorewood police already have contacted more than a dozen dentist offices or pharmacies throughout the region and are continuing their investigation.

“I want to commend Chief Puleo and his detectives for their immediate response to this dangerous drug activity,” Glasgow said. “We will not tolerate the defrauding of our local doctors to facilitate illicit drug activity. Our drug unit will work closely with the Shorewood Police Department as they aggressively pursue their investigation.”

Dentists and other physicians who believe an individual might have used false information to obtain a prescription for pain killers are urged to contact Detective Jason Barten with the Shorewood Police Department at (815) 725-4636.

The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office reminds the public that a charge is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Joliet man gets 86-year sentence for sexually assaulting a child

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July 24

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced that a Joliet man received an 86-year prison sentence for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old female family member throughout 2003.

Joe E. Duncan, 39, of 2309 Holly Ridge Drive, Joliet, was convicted on 11 counts of criminal sexual assault following a one-week trial in April.

The victim testified during the trial that Duncan regularly sexually assaulted her while her mother worked the night shift at a local telecommunications company. On one occasion, Duncan sexually assaulted the girl in a pool suite at The Sybaris in Frankfort, according to testimony.

Will County Circuit Judge Carla Alessio Goode handed down the sentence Friday after the victim read an emotional statement to the court.  The girl told the court that she kept silent about the sexual abuse and that she became depressed because she thought it would never end.

Joliet police arrested Duncan on Sept. 24, 2003, after he was accused of beating the victim. The girl disclosed the sexual assaults to her mother, who reported them to the police.

The Children’s Advocacy Center, which Glasgow established in 1995, assisted in the investigation and conducted early interviews with the victim to prepare the criminal case.

Glasgow praised the center’s staff as well as Assistant State’s Attorneys Mary Fillipitch and Matt Guzman for handling the case with the highest degree of sensitivity.  He also credited Judge Goode for issuing a long sentence that underscores the seriousness of Duncan’s crimes and acknowledges the emotional toll the sexual abuse took on the young girl.

“Duncan likely will spend the rest of his life behind bars,” Glasgow said. “He will never be free to prey on our children again.”

Man found guilty of attempting to rape owner of dry cleaner; victim feared for her life, fought off her attacker

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June 21

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced that a jury Wednesday afternoon found a Joliet man guilty of attempting to sexually assault the owner of a downtown Joliet dry cleaner while brandishing a box cutter.

Dale Allen Yost, 36, attempted to drag the 56-year-old proprietor into the back room of Rialto Cleaners, where hanging clothes would have hidden them from view.

The victim testified during the two-day trial that she grabbed an iron pole that supports the store’s dry-cleaning racks and clung to it for her life to prevent her assailant from dragging her out of view during the July 27, 2005 attack. She told the jury she had recently watched an episode of “Oprah” about fighting back against crime, and she feared she wouldn’t survive the attack if Yost forced her into the back room.

The woman, a Korean immigrant who ran two dry-cleaning businesses with her husband, was working alone that day because a family member was out of the country. She testified that Yost entered the store, walked in back of the counter and surprised her from behind while he wielded a box cutter.

“This deviant sexual predator thought he was attacking a woman who was defenseless,” Glasgow said. “But she surprised her cowardly assailant and held him off by giving him the fight of her life. And now he’s going to spend a good part of his life in prison.”

The victim suffered a shoulder injury during the attack that required multiple surgeries.

In addition to attempted criminal sexual assault, Yost was charged with armed robbery in connection with this attack. He pleaded guilty to the robbery charge on Monday but chose to go to trial on the attempted sexual assault charge.

He faces up to 90 years in prison when he is sentenced by Circuit Judge Daniel Rozak on both charges on Sept. 5.

A codefendant, Steven J. Partida, 20, of Joliet, is awaiting trial on charges of armed robbery and burglary in connection with this case.

Prosecutors James Long and John Connor presented the state’s case, which included a videotaped statement from Yost in which he admitted to committing the armed robbery but denied attempting to sexually assault the victim.

Yost had been released from a state prison in March 2005, four months before this attack. He had finished serving a 14-year sentence for an aggravated criminal sexual assault that occurred in Tazewell County.

Indictment handed down in unsolved Frankfort murder; 8-year-old cold case moves towards prosecution

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June 15

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow and Frankfort Police Chief Robert Piscia today announced that a grand jury has indicted a former Blue Island man in connection with a 1998 murder that was Frankfort’s only civilian homicide in the village’s 127-year history.

The four-count indictment for first-degree murder against Anthony Brescia, 51, marks a breakthrough in the investigation of a brutal slaying that has remained unsolved for eight years.  

The grand jury indictment also sustains Glasgow’s decision in 1999 to dismiss murder charges against another man who was the initial focus of the investigation.

Juliet Chinn, 43, was found stabbed to death inside her Frankfort condominium on May 18, 1998.

The evidence led investigators to focus on a man who was Chinn’s longtime coworker and boyfriend. The Palos Hills man was charged with murder after an intensive investigation that included a key forensic expert’s opinion regarding blood splatter patterns found at the crime scene.

Glasgow, however, personally reviewed the case and questioned the expert opinion. He dismissed the murder charges after calling in another internationally renowned forensic scientist to examine the blood spatter patterns.

Tom Bevel, a former Oklahoma City police investigator and an associate professor of forensic science, is a respected expert in blood spatter analysis. Bevel, who also authored a text on the subject, confirmed Glasgow’s doubts as to the original opinion.

“After countless reviews over a period of time, I had become increasingly troubled about the validity of the original blood spatter analysis,” Glasgow said. “As a result, I brought in a top expert in this forensic field to review the evidence. After consulting extensively with Professor Bevel and discussing the case with local investigators, I was convinced that I needed to dismiss the charges in the interest of justice.”

The case was eligible for the death penalty upon conviction. Glasgow and his team had not determined whether to pursue the death penalty when the decision was made to dismiss the charges in 1999.

Glasgow said he recognized at the time that dropping the charges would be difficult for Chinn’s family. The state’s attorney said he sympathized with the desire for swift justice.

This week’s indictment against Brescia, who currently is serving a 45-year sentence for a murder he committed in Palos Park four months after Chinn’s slaying, validated Glasgow’s decision. 

Acting on new information, Frankfort Detectives Will Dowding and Kevin Keegan visited Brescia at Pontiac Correctional Center earlier this year. The murder indictment was the result of a thorough examination of all newly discovered evidence in light of their investigation.

“I hope this indictment is the first step in finally bringing closure for the victim’s family as well as for the Frankfort community,” Glasgow said.

Glasgow credited Frankfort police, including Chief Piscia and Detectives Dowding and Keegan, for their thorough investigation of the new leads. Glasgow’s investigators, Detectives Pete Piazza and Daniel Procarione, also assisted in the investigation.

The state’s attorney also praised former prosecutor John McCabe and current Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Fitzgerald for their assistance in analyzing the blood spatter evidence in 1999.

Brescia is scheduled to appear for arraignment in Will County Circuit Court in Joliet on Tuesday, June 20. 

The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office reminds the public that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the state has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Joliet man gets 23-year sentence for drive-by shooting that wounded 8-year-old boy

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June 18

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced that a Joliet man who wounded an 8-year-old boy in a drive-by shooting was sentenced to 23 years in prison Thursday.

Corey M. Kelly, 24, was convicted in March on charges of attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm following a three-day jury trial. Associate Judge Robert Livas sentenced Kelly.  

Kelly was inside a vehicle when he fired several rounds at Demarcus Johnson, who was standing in the 700 block of East Washington Street in Joliet on the afternoon of Sept. 16, 2004.

The shots missed Johnson, but a stray bullet struck an 8-year-old boy, who was inside his living room doing homework. The child was hit in the arm but survived the attack.

“Our children should be safe from such reckless acts of street violence while they are inside their homes,” Glasgow said. “Corey Kelly displayed a callous and shameful disregard for human life when he opened fire that day. Our streets and our homes will be safer with him behind bars.”

Kelly fled the scene after the shooting. Police picked him up on a warrant two months later in south suburban Matteson.

Glasgow credited Assistant State’s Attorneys Chris Regis and Patrick McKenna for successfully prosecuting the case and for securing a lengthy sentence. Under Illinois sentencing guidelines, Kelly must serve at least 85 percent of his prison term.

Lockport man found guilty of criminal neglect of his elderly father

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June 6

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced that a jury Monday night found a Lockport man who allowed his bedridden father to develop massive bedsores that eventually proved fatal guilty of criminal neglect of an elderly person.

Keith Condon, 41, faces two to five years in prison when he is sentenced before Associate Judge Robert Livas on Aug. 11. Probation also is a sentencing option.Criminal neglect of an elderly person is a Class 3 felony.

Condon was the caregiver for his 71-year-old father, William K. Condon Jr., who died in March 2002 after developing more than a dozen bedsores, the largest of which was nine inches long and exposed bone along his lower back and buttocks.

Dr. Bryan Mitchell, who performed the autopsy on the elderly man, testified during a five-day trial that began last week that William Condon died from infections and pneumonia caused by his ulcers.

The bedsores covered William Condon’s legs, buttocks and back. They ranged in severity from Class 1 surface ulcers to Class 4 ulcers that took weeks to develop and tore through fat and muscle down to the bone, Mitchell testified. 

Prosecutors Nicole Moore and Christopher Regis entered photographs of William Condon’s wounds into evidence to illustrate for jurors the level of neglect. The photographs were taken after the elderly man’s death.

The charge against Keith Condon alleged that he failed to take action necessary to preserve his father’s health.

Testimony and evidence during the trial revealed that Keith Condon called a doctor at 1:30 a.m. on March 20, 2002 when his father began to experience trouble breathing. Dr. Donald Gerry, a family physician, urged Keith Condon to take his father to the hospital immediately. But Keith Condon waited nearly 12 hours to take his father to the emergency room at Silver Cross Hospital.

William Condon, who had suffered multiple strokes and had been confined to a bed in his son’s home, died at 3:50 a.m. on March 21, 2002.

“Caring for an elderly bedridden parent is a solemn responsibility,” Glasgow said. 

“To repay a parent’s unconditional love with such wretched neglect is unconscionable. This verdict sends a strong message to anyone caring for the elderly that it must be done with dignity and respect for the human condition. Anything less will not be tolerated.”

The state’s attorney also credited prosecutors Moore and Regis for their sensitive handling of the case and for preserving the late William Condon’s dignity during the trial.

Emerald Ausby sentenced to life for Bolingbrook murder

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June 6

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced Tuesday that Emerald Ausby, 31, of Bolingbrook, was sentenced to life in prison for a crime spree five years ago that included the brutal killing and sexual assault of his neighbor.

During that violent spree in June and July of 2001, Ausby also stabbed the proprietor of a Bolingbrook dry cleaner during a robbery, and he attempted to rob a Bolingbrook motel.

Circuit Judge Gerald Kinney handed down a life sentence with no chance of parole for the murder and a 160-year sentence for the robberies Tuesday afternoon at the request of prosecutors Lea Norbut-Sicinski, chief of Glasgow’s criminal division, and Neil Adams, who heads the state’s attorney’s felony division.

“This sentence guarantees our citizens can rest assured that this violent killer will never again walk our streets free to terrorize innocent people,” Glasgow said. “No amount of punishment can ever undo the carnage inflicted upon these defenseless victims, but solace can be taken in the knowledge that this depraved murderer will spend the rest of his life staring at prison walls.”     

Ausby broke into the home of Arlinda Paez on July 10, 2001. Upon being discovered inside the house, Ausby sexually assaulted Paez and then beat her to death with a baseball bat.

Paez and her husband came to the United States from the Philippines in 1988 because they wanted better educational opportunities for their children. She was a teacher in the Philippines and took a job in a nursing home after arriving in this country.

The murder capped a series of violent crimes that began on June 2, 2001, when Ausby robbed the Pennywise Dry Cleaner in Bolingbrook and stabbed the proprietor in the chest with a kitchen knife. The knife punctured the woman’s gallbladder and cut her liver. The victim also suffered a head injury when Ausby threw her to the ground and dragged her to the back of the store.

The woman survived the attack. Ausby stole $272.

On June 22, 2001, he attempted to rob a Bolingbrook motel while wearing a black ski mask. During that botched robbery, he jumped over the desk and slapped the night manager when she started to scream. Nothing was taken.

Ausby entered a blind plea of guilty in May to indictments charging first-degree murder, home invasion, armed robbery and criminal sexual assault stemming from the Paez case.

He pleaded guilty in December to indictments charging attempted murder, armed robbery and attempted robbery in connection with the dry cleaner and motel robberies.

The state’s attorney’s office originally had announced its intention to seek the death penalty for Ausby in the murder case. The judge, however, ruled in November that Ausby was mentally retarded and therefore not eligible under the law for the death penalty.

Truck driver who hauled marijuana gets seven-year sentence

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June 1

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced that a Texas truck driver caught with 380 pounds of marijuana in the back of his rig was convicted Thursday on the charge of drug possession with intent to deliver.

Hugo Sublasky, 32, of Cliff, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of more than 5,000 grams of cannabis with intent to deliver. He received a seven-year prison sentence.

Illinois State Police District 5 Trooper Ryan Palmer pulled Sublasky’s rig over on May 16, 2005 at the truck stop on U.S. 30 at Interstate 55 because one of his running lights was out. The trooper became suspicious while questioning Sublasky, who was evasive about his destination and cargo.

The trooper began a full safety inspection of Sublasky’s truck and obtained the driver’s consent to search the vehicle. A drug-sniffing dog that was brought to the scene alerted police to the probable presence of illegal narcotics in the back of the truck.

While searching the trailer, police found 13 duffel bags containing 380 pounds of marijuana wrapped in cellophane. The marijuana had a street value of approximately $300,000.

Glasgow credited the alert trooper for pursuing his suspicions and conducting a legal search that laid the groundwork for his prosecutors to secure a conviction.

“District 5’s state troopers are among the best at detecting suspicious activity on the highways that cut through Will County,” Glasgow said. “Truckers hauling illegal narcotics through our county stand a good change of being pulled over by a trooper who knows what to look for and how to conduct a by-the-book search that will stick in court.”

Glasgow also praised assistant state’s attorneys Mark Fleszewski, Mike Steadman and Mike Knick. All three prosecutors worked up the case with the Illinois State Police.

Stateville correctional officer found guilty of custodial sexual misconduct

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May 24


JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced that an Illinois Department of Corrections officer from Stateville Correctional Center was convicted Wednesday on one count of custodial sexual misconduct following a two-day bench trial.

Tracy Terry, 36, of Joliet, faces 2 to 5 years in prison when she is sentenced by Circuit Judge Carla Alessio Goode on Aug. 24. Probation also is a sentencing option.

Terry, who held the rank of sergeant, was accused of having sexual contact with a Stateville inmate inside a prison property closet on Aug. 20, 2005.

Terry supervised the property closet, which is where personal items belonging to inmates were stored. The inmate had been assigned to work inside the property closet.

The sexual contact was recorded on a hidden video camera. Investigators, acting on an informant’s tip about sexual misconduct, installed the camera inside the closet. The tape was played during the trial.

Assistant State’s Attorney Brian Barrett prosecuted the case on behalf of the state.

Madigan, Glagow: court grants preliminary injunction order in Exelon case, outlining steps that must be taken to protect citzens, environment

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May 24

Contact: Melissa Merz
mmerz@atg.state.il.us 
312-814-3118
877-844-5461 (TTY) 

CHICAGO – Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow today announced that the Will County Circuit Court has approved a preliminary injunction ordering Exelon Generation Company, LLC, to take a number of critical steps to protect public health and the environment at its Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station.
 
Madigan and Glasgow, who filed a lawsuit against Exelon Corporation, Commonwealth Edison Company, and Exelon Generation Company, LLC, in March, said today’s order is the first phase in addressing the tritium contamination at the Braidwood facility and the nearby areas impacted by the releases.  

“This order provides an initial blueprint for how Exelon Generation must address the serious problems that have arisen because of contamination from the Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station,” Madigan said.  “While the lawsuit continues to move forward, this order outlines the actions that Exelon Generation must take immediately.  Lawsuits take time.  This order is about requiring Exelon Generation to take steps to protect public and environmental health and safety now.”

“The preliminary injunction approved by the court today is a critical first step toward protecting our citizens from releases of radioactive tritium by Exelon Generation’s Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station,” Glasgow said. “My office, Attorney General Madigan and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency have worked tirelessly since the complaint was filed to hammer out an order that immediately establishes specific remediation timetables and oversight plans to ensure Exelon Generation’s compliance while leaving the door wide open for any future action necessary to protect the public health.”

“The action taken by Attorney General Madigan and State’s Attorney Glasgow is an important step in ensuring that Exelon Generation fulfills its commitment to remedy the contamination it caused,” said Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) Director Doug Scott. “By working together, we can make sure the public, and Illinois’ natural resources, are protected.”

According to the order, the following steps must be taken: 

  • To remediate the groundwater contamination, Exelon Generation will lower the water level in a pond located near Smiley Road and Center Street to cause the adjacent contaminated groundwater to drain into the pond.  The pond water will be piped to a blowdown line for conveyance to the Kankakee River at levels far below the Nuclear Regulatory Commission discharge limits.
  • Due to past releases of tritium from vacuum breaker valves, Exelon Generation has installed and must maintain in service at all times, leak-proof barriers at the base of each vacuum beaker pit and leak detection monitors with remote alarms at the station control center for the operator to stop the flow into the blowdown line from the pond if a leak is detected.
  • Exelon Generation must continue to cease using the blowdown line to discharge tritium wastewater from the facility to the Kankakee River, and must give 28 days notice to the state before it seeks to resume such usage. 
  • Exelon Generation will institute a program of leak detection from the blowdown line by weekly visual surveillance and monthly sampling of the groundwater along the over four miles of pipe from the plant to the river.
  • Exelon Generation will sample 280 private residential wells in and near the Village of Godley for tritium for a period of five weeks.  Participating residents will receive a copy of the results of their well tests within approximately 10 business days after the samples were collected.  The accuracy of the results will be verified by the Illinois Department of Public Health. 
  • Exelon Generation will provide bottled water to approximately 420 residences in the Village of Godley and near the blowdown line until future testing of those wells shows no tritium beyond what is naturally occurring.  Exelon Generation must provide two weeks notice prior to discontinuing the bottled water service to any residence.  If later testing shows tritium concentrations in that well have increased, Exelon Generation must meet with the IEPA to discuss what action should be taken.
  • By June 30, 2006, Exelon Generation will complete an investigation of tritium in the groundwater in the vicinity of the vacuum breaker valves and the turbine building and provide copies of the investigation report to the state for its review.
  • By July 1, 2006, Exelon Generation must submit a written plan to the IEPA for preventing groundwater containing more than 20,000 picocuries per liter (pCi/L), the safe drinking water standard set by federal regulation, from migrating off facility property.  The plan also must describe measures Exelon Generation has taken to prevent tritium from moving from the subsurface to the earth’s surface or to surface water on facility property.
  • By August 1, 2006, Exelon Generation must submit a corrective action plan to the IEPA for reducing tritium in groundwater to below 20,000 pCi/L at off-property locations where tritium concentrations exceed that level.
  • By December 1, 2006, Exelon Generation must submit a written plan to the IEPA for reducing the threat to groundwater users of tritium in offsite groundwater at concentrations below 20,000 pCi/L.
  • Exelon Generation must notify the IEPA of any release from the facility of a radioactive material into groundwater, surface water or soil that is not allowed by the facility’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission license.  Exelon Generation must provide such notification within 24 hours of learning of the release, with a written follow-up notice within five business days.
  • Exelon Generation will implement a plan, which was approved by the IEPA, for providing information to the public concerning tritium releases from the facility.  The Community Relations Plan is attached to the agreed injunction order as an exhibit, and requires Exelon Generation to hold community information nights at least every two months and continue to store public documents at the local library and provide them on Exelon Generation’s Web site.

Operations at the Braidwood nuclear plant generate tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that can replace non-radioactive hydrogen atoms in ordinary water to form tritiated water.  Health experts say human exposure to tritium increases the risk of developing cancer. 

In March, Madigan and Glasgow filed a lawsuit against Exelon Corporation, Commonwealth Edison Company, and Exelon Generation Company, LLC for the facility’s releases of wastewater containing tritium into the groundwater beneath the facility and the groundwater outside the boundary of the plant.  

According to Madigan’s and Glasgow’s suit, the defendants released tritiated water at eight separate locations on the Braidwood property.  The first leak allegedly occurred a decade ago.  Three distinct releases occurred in 1996, 1998 and 2000, and three other releases occurred at unknown times from the facility’s blowdown line, which is an underground pipe that carries wastewater, including tritiated water, approximately four and one-half miles from the power plant directly to the Kankakee River.  Braidwood’s blowdown line is located on facility property, but runs adjacent to private and public property, including a forest preserve and nature area.   

An additional release occurred at an unknown time in the area near and to the west of the station and an eighth release occurred March 13, 2006, near the tritiated water temporary storage area at the plant.

Madigan and Glasgow’s lawsuit alleges that the eight leaks contributed to water pollution and that six of the releases were the result of inadequate maintenance and operation of vacuum breakers along the blowdown line.  Vacuum breakers allow air into the line to prevent the formation of a vacuum within the pipe. 

Madigan and Glasgow alleged that tritiated water entered the vacuum breaker housing and flowed into the groundwater and upward through a manhole onto the surrounding land.   In addition, as a result of the leaks from Vacuum Breaker 3 in 1998 and Vacuum Breaker 2 in 2000, a plume of tritiated water is present near the vacuum breakers and has extended through the groundwater and a surface pond and into the groundwater north and east of the Braidwood property.  

The lawsuit alleges that all of the defendants also discharged non-radioactive contaminants, such as sewage, into surface and groundwater off site without a state National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.  

The suit seeks the maximum civil penalties for the water pollution violation and for additional allegations that include exceeding groundwater standards. 

The order entered today also requires Exelon Generation to:

  • Provide quarterly reports to the state on the progress of the work being performed;
  • Reimburse the IEPA for its past and future costs incurred in overseeing the defendants’ response to the tritium releases; and 
  • Reimburse Will County for its costs incurred in investigating potential tritium contamination of drinking water and groundwater.

Division Chief Matthew Dunn, Bureau Chief RoseMarie Cazeau, Environmental Counsel Ann Alexander and Supervising Attorney Rebecca Burlingham are handling the case for Madigan’s Environmental Enforcement Division.  Glasgow serves as lead counsel for his office.