Fox Lake teen denies charges in dragging death of North Chicago man
A Fox Lake teen pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges she played a role in a botched theft that left a man fatally wounded in a Round Lake Beach parking lot.
Courtney Sherman, 18, faces up to seven years in prison if found guilty of a robbery charge stemming from the April 24 death of Trinidad Bueno-Sanchez, 43, of North Chicago. She also faces up to five years in prison if convicted of either of two additional reckless homicide charges.
Sherman, who remains held in the Lake County jail on $250,000 bail, is scheduled to go to trial Aug. 14. Two juveniles also face reckless homicide and robbery charges.
According to police, officers were called to a parking lot at 750 E. Rollins Road about 8 p.m. April 24 on a report of a person struck by a vehicle.
Police said investigators later learned Bueno-Sanchez went to the parking lot to sell a cellphone in a deal arranged over a phone app. After he arrived, police said, Bueno-Sanchez was approached by a vehicle driven by a 17-year-old girl and carrying Sherman and three other juveniles.
He handed the cellphone to a person in the vehicle, and someone in the vehicle handed him an envelope of money, police said. However, after finding the envelope contained only a fraction of the agreed-upon sale price, Bueno-Sanchez leaned into the vehicle to question the occupants, according to police.
The driver then accelerated, authorities said, initially dragging Bueno-Sanchez, then causing him to fall and strike his head on the pavement. He was pronounced dead from head trauma later that night at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
Sherman attorney James Schwarzbach said Tuesday he is unable to comment much on the case until after he reviews police reports and has an opportunity to "investigate whether there is any legal accountability" for his client. He said Sherman was not the driver and was not the front-seat passenger interacting with Bueno-Sanchez.
Sherman is due back in court June 21 for a case management conference.