Judge tosses charges in watch theft case

A Cook County judge found no probable cause to sustain theft charges against a mother and daughter charged with stealing a watch from a Hoffman Estates resale shop.

The employee/witness had trouble identifying the watch police said Delores Dyson, 42, and her 24-year-old daughter Lashawntae Dyson took from the store, said Assistant Public Defender Salvatore Spaccaferro, speculating on what might have led to the judge's ruling.

In the complaint, the witness indicated the stolen item was a watch worth about $300. Under cross-examination, the witness said it was a $600 watch, Spaccaferro said.

Lashawntae Dyson, of the 200 block of St. Charles Road in Carol Stream, was free on a $1,000 bond. Delores Dyson, of the 100 block of Washington Blvd., in Hoffman Estates, was in custody, but will likely be released soon, Spaccaferro said.

However, prosecutors still have the option to indict the women, he said. "Procedurally, that's what they have a right to do," he said.