Report: Forgetful drug defendant brings pot to Kane courthouse
A 20-year-old who was going to Kane County court earlier this month to apply for the county's "second chance program" related to a felony marijuana offense was arrested after court security officers found pot on him.
Jeremy N. Soto, of the 300 block of Ann Street, West Chicago, was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession after officers found 1.4 grams of marijuana in his pocket at 8:55 a.m. Oct. 17 as he was going through security at the St. Charles courthouse, according to a sheriff's report.
"I forgot I had this in my pocket," Soto was quoted as telling officers.
Soto said he was headed to court to apply for the county's Pretrial Diversion program, which is for nonviolent, first-time felony drug offenders.
Records show this month's arrest wasn't Soto's first drug arrest in Kane County. He was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession in St. Charles in December 2013, records show. He pleaded guilty and was given six months supervision, which he satisfactorily completed, records show.
Aurora police arrested Soto in August and charged him with possession of between 30 grams and 500 grams of marijuana, a felony punishable by anywhere from probation to three years in prison.
Soto, free after posting bond, is due in court Nov. 26.
Haunted house lawsuit settled
A 54-year-old Elburn woman has reached an out-of-court settlement with the operators of Aurora haunted house she sued over claims she sustained a concussion while visiting their "The Basement of the Dead" in October 2010.
In the lawsuit, Elizabeth Teevans alleged she suffered the concussion when she was hit by an unidentified haunted house worker who had swung down from a doorway.
She sued Todd and Tressa Baraniak of Naperville, the owners of Arrival Productions and West New York, LLC, arguing negligence.
Details of the settlement were not available through court records, and Randy Smith, an attorney for the Baraniaks, did not return phone messages.
Teevans' attorney, Todd Wallace, had said his client suffered from concussive symptoms and could not work. Wallace also did not return phone message.
The lawsuit was dismissed by Judge James Murphy with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled in the future, according to court records.
hhitzeman@dailyherald.com