December 20

The quoted statement below may be attributed to Will County States Attorney James Glasgow:
 
I am extremely disappointed with the civil jury verdict in this case and have directed our attorneys to immediately begin work on an appeal. I am highly confident that the county will prevail on its appeal because the jury was not allowed to hear critical evidence bearing on probable cause. We made multiple motions for mistrial during the course of this trial because we were not allowed to present evidence that had direct bearing on the decision by our detectives to eventually arrest Mr. Fox.
 
We continue to stand behind and support our detectives and the manner in which they conducted themselves throughout this investigation. It has always been our contention that the sheriffs deputies acted properly during the interview of Kevin Fox and that they had probable cause to arrest him.
 
General Information: 

• The appellate process can take up to three years. 
• All of the compensatory damages will by covered by the countys insurance carrier. 
• The county will ask for the punitive damages to be reduced or eliminated or that the bond that individual defendants post will be waived during the appellate process.

December 12

JOLIET  Will County States Attorney  James Glasgow announced today (Wednesday, Dec. 12) that former Joliet Fire Chief Joseph Drick and his wife, Cheri Drick, were sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing more than $211,000 from an elderly woman.

A jury on Oct. 1 found the Dricks guilty of theft by deception, financial exploitation of an elderly person and conspiracy to commit financial exploitation of an elderly person. Immediately after the October verdict, Associate Judge Robert Livas revoked their bail and took them into custody pending sentencing. 

The Dricks befriended 82-year-old Gladys Farrington of Joliet in November of 2002 after they saw her walking through her neighborhood on a cold day. Within months of meeting Farrington, Cheri Drick had obtained power of attorney for the elderly woman and had begun writing checks on her accounts to pay for items used for the Dricks personal purposes. Joe Drick made the initial call to a local lawyer, who arranged to give Cheri Drick power of attorney for Farrington.

This prison sentence marks a sad conclusion to Joe Dricks otherwise distinguished career as a public servant, Glasgow said. The Dricks took advantage of a trusting elderly woman, and their steadfast refusal to acknowledge their responsibility for their crimes has resulted in these prison sentences. In law enforcement, we must be aggressive in our efforts to protect senior citizens who are so vulnerable to such exploitation.

Over the course of 2003, the Dricks used Farringtons money to purchase a Cadillac Escalade, pay the mortgage on the large home they own at 1400 Mason in Joliet, buy mausoleum crypts for themselves, pay for new windows on their house and pump roughly $88,000 into Joseph Dricks side business, Drick Educational Services.

Cheri Drick also cashed in certificates of deposit and changed Farringtons will to make her and her family the beneficiaries of the womans roughly $1.1 million estate. In her original will, Farrington left all of her money to the Cathedral of St. Raymond, where she had been a devoted parishioner who attended services every day for most of her life.

The prosecution argued the Dricks took advantage of Farrington by creating the false impression they would take care of her finances and act in her best interest. Farrington died in 2005.

Testimony during the nearly three-week trial showed Farrington to be a shy and frugal woman who had no debt and did not believe in credit cards. She did not know Cheri Drick was writing checks on her accounts for personal expenditures at stores like Carsons, Best Buy, J.C. Penny and Abercrombie & Fitch.

Cheri Drick had all of Farringtons mail redirected to her own house. And she isolated the elderly woman from neighbors who had helped her over the years, telling them they should stay away from Farrington.

Glasgow credited his two prosecutors, Kathy Patton and Chris Koch, for piecing together a complicated financial case and explaining the details of this exploitation clearly for jurors.

These two dedicated prosecutors sifted through mountains of financial documentation to prepare for a difficult trial that lasted three weeks, Glasgow said. They so clearly documented how Gladys Farrington fell victim to financial exploitation that after fifteen days of evidence the jury returned with a guilty verdict in only 2-1/2 hours.

October 3

JOLIET —Will County States Attorney James Glasgow announces the release of his completely revised gang awareness and prevention book to assist educators and parents who want to protect children from street gang influences.

States Attorney Glasgow developed and printed the 40-page, full-color book, Gangs: Awareness, Prevention, Intervention, in cooperation with the Joliet Township High School Districts YESS! Initiative. Funding for the initial printing of the book was provided through a federal Safe Schools, Healthy Students grant awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The book initially is being distributed to parents and educators from the Joliet Township High School District under the federal grant. Glasgow, however, will talk with other Will County school officials about funding the printing and distribution of the gang prevention book for their school districts.

Over the next year, the states attorneys gang experts will distribute more than 6,000 books when they make presentations to JTHS parents, teachers and administrators at community meetings, open houses and faculty training sessions. 

This book will serve as a critical educational tool to instruct parents and teachers about street gang activity in their own community, Glasgow said. The book provides details about how gangs operate in Will County, detailing their antithetical philosophy built on the deliberate and continuous commission of crimes against society. It also includes detailed descriptions and photographs of the clothes they wear, the hand signals they flash and the graffiti symbols they use to identify their turf.

Glasgow continued: More importantly, the book discusses the means by which street gangs try to lure our children into lives of crime.  It outlines strategies and services aimed at identifying at-risk youths and steering them away from gang influences.

Gang prevention books have been an important component of Glasgows administration for roughly 15 years. The states attorney published several black-and-white editions of the book in the 1990s, shortly after his office and Will County police departments raised the stakes in the local war against gang crime.  The Chicago Tribune dubbed one of these prevention books the primary primer on gangs.

Glasgow established the states attorneys first Gang Prosecution Unit in 1993 during his first year in office when gang shootings in Joliet had skyrocketed to 296 as of December 7, 1993.  On that date, the states attorney worked with local police and federal law enforcement officials to conduct a sweep that took 47 high-level gang members off Will Countys streets. The initiative eliminated all local gang shootings for the next three months and received national attention when it was featured on World News Tonight hosted by Peter Jennings.

Glasgows new gang prevention book was developed and updated with input from gang experts in local law enforcement, among them: Detective Sgt. Dave Margliano, who recently retired from the Channahon Police Department and now serves as an investigator and court qualified gang expert with the states attorneys office; Detective Sgt. Tom Quillman of the Joliet Police Department; Fred Hafner, who retired from the Joliet Police Department; members of the Will County States Attorneys Gang Prosecution Unit; and the states attorneys Crime Prevention Division.

Law enforcement officials who know first-hand how gangs operate in Will County participated in the creation of States Attorney Glasgows updated gang prevention book, Margliano said. The information that is contained in his book was culled from our experiences battling gang crime and working with young people to keep them out of gangs. 

Glasgows gang prevention book cites research from the Chicago Crime Commissions Gang Book as well the Bureau of Justice Assistances 2005 National Gang Threat Assessment. Like those reports, Glasgows book provides detailed photographs of tattoos, graffiti and hand signals that identify the main gangs operating in Will County the Gangster Disciples, Latin Kings, Two-Six Nation and Vice Lords as well as other gangs that have attempted to claim local turf like the Two-Two Boys, Maniac Latin Disciples and La Raza. 

Unlike those reports, Glasgow targeted parents and educators with his book. His goal is to put information in their hands to fight gang crime through awareness, prevention and intervention at the grassroots level and to complement law enforcements aggressive police and prosecution efforts.

Law enforcement cannot succeed in a vacuum, the states attorney writes in the books forward. This battle requires that we have a strong sense of family, neighborhood and community. Everyone must join the fight to stop this problem. Parents, teachers, business leaders and government officials must learn the warning signs so they can help stop gang infiltration in its tracks.

Kelli Bettenhausen, executive director of JTHS YESS! (Youth Experience Success in Schools) initiative, said the states attorneys gang book will serve as important resources for parents and faculty.

The gang prevention book created by States Attorney Glasgow brings to life the reality of street gangs, Bettenhausen said. Joliet Township High School District 204 will present this book to teachers, administrators, parents and community members to raise awareness of gang activity. The information contained in the book can help them reach out to children and students who are susceptible to gang influences.

Gangs: Awareness, Prevention, Intervention takes Glasgows 1990s books to the next level. The federal grant funding enabled the states attorneys office to print an eye-catching, full-color book that will appeal to parents and teachers. All of the information is presented in short, easy-to-read chapters that are illustrated through original art as well as high-quality photographs provided by local police departments.

The cover of the new edition was a collaborative effort by many people, all with an eye toward a clear visual representation of the true purpose of book. The gavel smashing the wall and shattering the gang graffiti conveys the positive message that we in civilized society will prevail over the lawlessness of these malevolent criminals, Glasgow said.

Interspersed throughout the book are short, real-life stories about gang cases that have been investigated and prosecuted in Will County. The true stories serve as a reminder that gang crime continues to affect the citizens of Will County. At the same time they clearly demonstrate how effectively our criminal justice system deals with these lawless acts.

School districts and community organizations can obtain more information about Gangs: Awareness, Prevention, Intervention and obtain a copy by calling Charles B. Pelkie at the states attorneys office at (815) 727-8789.

September 20

JOLIET — Will County States Attorney James Glasgow announced that a second defendant has been convicted of murder in connection with a firebombing that killed a mother and her 4-year-old daughter.
 
A jury late Wednesday evening (Sept. 19, 2007) found Ignacio Jacobo, 21, guilty on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated arson.
 
Jacobo threw a rock through the first-floor window of a house at 419 Madeline St. in Joliets St. Patricks Neighborhood in the early-morning hours of April 9, 2005. A second defendant, Juan Santana, 28, then threw a firebomb through the broken window.
 
A fire spread quickly through the two-story house. Maria DeLourdes Nunez, 35, and her young daughter, Merary Nunez, died from smoke inhalation in an upstairs bedroom.
 
Firefighters found Nunez lying on top of Merary in what they believe was a desperate attempt to protect her daughter from the smoke and fire that engulfed the house. Both Nunez and her daughter were dead by the time rescuers reached them.
 
Santana already has been convicted and sentenced to life in prison for his role in the murders. Jacobo also faces life in prison when he is sentenced by Circuit Judge Richard Schoenstedt on Nov. 28.
 
Testimony during Jacobos trial revealed that the two men firebombed the house because they believed one of Merarys older brothers belonged to a rival gang. The brother, who was 14 at the time of the firebombing, testified he was a pretend gang member.
 
Ignacio Jacobo and Juan Santana firebombed a house and killed a young mother and her innocent 4-year-old daughter because they wanted to retaliate against a defenseless14-year-old child, Glasgow said. This irrational act of lethal brutality was perpetrated by two gutless gang bangers who couldnt run away fast enough.  Thanks to the truly incredible investigation by the Joliet Police Department, they couldnt run far or fast enough.
 
Nunezs two sons were sleeping in the house when Santana and Jacobo threw the firebomb. One of the brothers tried to put out what started as a small fire, but he abandoned his efforts as flames and smoke spread.
 
One woman testified she saw two men running toward a white Jeep Cherokee with a red interior shortly after the house was firebombed. She memorized the license plate number and reported it to police, who traced the vehicle to its owner.
 
The owner of the Jeep testified he had lent his vehicle to Santana, Jacobo and another man, Sergio Anguiano, 24, of Joliet, on the night of the firebombing.
 
Anguiano, who testified for the prosecution, drove Santana and Jacobo to the scene. He parked a block away from the Nunez house. But he said he did not see the firebombing and did not know Santana and Jacobo intended to torch the house.
 
In exchange for his truthful testimony, Anguiano will be allowed to enter a blind plead of guilty to charges of aggravated arson. He faces up to 20 years in prison upon conviction.
 
Two of Glasgows top prosecutors, First Assistant States Attorney Greg DeBord and Criminal Division Chief Lea Norbut-Sicinski, tried the cases against both Santana and Jacobo to successful jury verdicts.
 
These first-class prosecutors closed a sad and terrible case by securing convictions that will remove two callous murderers from society, Glasgow said.

August 23

JOLIET — Will County States Attorney James Glasgow announced Thursday (Aug. 23, 2007) that a New Lenox man who sexually assaulted a woman at gunpoint at her Frankfort place of business in 2003 has received the maximum prison sentence under state law for his crime.

David Baller, 44, of 1201 S. Spencer Road, was sentenced by Circuit Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak to 30 years in prison. Baller pleaded guilty in June to one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault shortly before his case was to go to trial. He must serve 85 percent of his sentence.

Baller already is serving a 50-year sentence for two counts of sexual assault in Orland Park in Cook County.  The 30-year sentence in Will County must run consecutive to the Cook County sentence.

David Baller committed an act of brutal sexual violence four years ago in Frankfort, Glasgow said. The sentence he received in Will County today guarantees that this cowardly sexual predator will never again be free to viciously attack another woman on our streets.

In the Frankfort case, Baller entered the victims place of business at about 8 p.m. on Jan. 8, 2003 wearing a mask and a camouflage jacket. He forced the woman into a back office at gunpoint where he sexually assaulted her.

The victim was treated at a local hospital. Semen samples retrieved from the victims clothes enabled investigators to develop a DNA profile of the assailant. However, there were no matches at the time for the profile in the national database.

Baller remained at large until 2005, when Flossmoor police questioned him in connection with a string of indecent exposures in their community. Baller also was connected at that time to the sexual assault in Orland Park. He was convicted in the Orland Park case in 2006 and sentenced to 50 years in prison.

DNA evidence collected during the Orland Park investigation matched the profile in the Frankfort case. The Will County States Attorneys Office immediately filed felony aggravated sexual assault charges against Baller.

Glasgow credited the cooperation between local police departments for linking Baller to the Frankfort attack. Solid police work enabled two of his assistant states attorneys Lea Norbut, who heads his criminal division, and Michael Fitzgerald to secure a guilty plea from a dangerous predator.