FBI: Man used his cellphone to help him rob bank
It seems everyone is going paperless these days - even the bank robbers.
According to a federal criminal complaint filed last week, Christopher King eschewed the traditional written note when demanding money from a teller while holding up a Fifth Third Bank branch in Naperville earlier this year.
Instead, the 29-year-old Lisle man showed the teller his cellphone, which displayed “give me the cash in your drawer” on its screen.
The teller gave him a few fifties and hundreds, according to an FBI special agent's affidavit. King leaned over, spotted more cash in the drawer and demanded the rest, documents state. In all, he got away with $3,808 in the Feb. 11 heist, the FBI says.
After receiving a pair of anonymous tips that King was the robber, FBI agents tracked him this month to a residence in Lisle. A few days later, he met with agents at a Woodridge coffee shop and agreed to turn himself in to face a bank robbery charge, which he did Tuesday, court records indicate.
Police honor village trustee
We often use this space to recognize police officers honored by their village boards and city councils for heroic acts in the line of duty.
This week we saw a bit of a role reversal in Round Lake Park, where it was the police honoring the courage of a village board member.
Trustee Arlene R. Rogalski received the Chief's Citizens Award on Tuesday for her July 24 actions that may very well have saved the life of a 60-year-old woman who survived a violent attack at a house across the street.
Police Chief George Filenko said Rogalski intervened in the assault, during which police say the victim was strangled and had her throat slit by her own son. Rogalski's yells eventually led the assailant to flee.
“Not only did she protect (the victim's) life, but she gave us a very good description that allowed us to locate him and prevent harm to anyone else,” Filenko said.
The accused, Adam Kuehn, 32, of Round Lake Park, now faces multiple charges of aggravated battery and aggravated domestic battery. He's due in court next Friday.
The department on Tuesday also gave awards to Deputy Chief Dan Burch, and officers Chris Valle and Robert Cavaiani for their work to capture Kuehn.
One more award
It was a big night for Valle. Besides accepting an award Tuesday for his work to capture Kuehn, he was recognized for rescuing a man who drove his minivan into Round Lake after falling asleep behind the wheel April 13.
The van was sinking into the lake when Valle arrived at the scene. He rushed into the water, helped the 38-year-old driver remove his seat belt and held the man's head above the water line until fire rescue units arrived to pull him out.
Filenko said Valle later told him the first thing he thought of when he saw the van submerging into the lake was the possibility of kids trapped inside. Fortunately, the driver was alone that morning.
Big changes
Gov. Bruce Rauner this week signed into law sweeping reforms of the state's often criticized asset forfeiture system.
Under the legislation, police can still seize property used in criminal acts, as well as cash and other assets acquired through criminal enterprise. Law enforcement agencies took in nearly $320 million in asset forfeitures from 2005 to 2015, according to Illinois State Police.
However, the burden of proof for a seizure will shift from the relatively easy-to-meet “probable cause” to the stiffer “preponderance of the evidence” standard.
It also requires public reporting of forfeiture data and gives state police more authority to sanction agencies that abuse the rules.
“We must strike the proper balance between targeting criminal enterprises and safeguarding the rights of innocent property owners,” said state Sen. Michael Connelly, a Naperville Republican who was among the bill's sponsors. He noted the Institute for Justice gave Illinois a D-minus grade for its previous forfeiture laws.
Asset forfeiture has been a controversial law enforcement practice for years. It's sometimes labeled as “policing for profit” by its critics, who say it encourages and allows police to seize cash, cars, land and other property from people suspected - though not necessarily charged with or convicted - of a crime. Seized property often is auctioned off, with police departments keeping the proceeds.
Sentence upheld
A state appeals court last week upheld the four-year prison term given to a West Chicago woman convicted of driving under the influence after a 2013 crash near Oswego killed a passenger.
Kristen Leonard, 35, was asking the court to find that the Kendall County judge who sentenced her abused his discretion by sending her to prison, despite mitigating evidence such as her claims that passenger Jason Callahan of Yorkville “induced” her to drive recklessly.
“Here, the trial court clearly did not abuse its discretion,” Justice Kathryn Zenoff wrote in the unanimous decision. “Its sentence was lenient - only one year above the minimum and 10 years below the maximum.”
Authorities said Leonard had a blood-alcohol level nearly three times above the legal limit when the SUV she was driving slammed into a guardrail, killing the 38-year-old Callahan. She later pleaded guilty to an aggravated DUI charge.
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