Man accused of threatening Lake County jail guard during altercation
A man nearing the start of his trial for the 2007 murder of a Round Lake Park woman has been charged with threatening a guard at the Lake County jail.
Montago Suggs, 29, pleaded not guilty in Lake County court Thursday to aggravated intimidation of a jail guard following an Aug. 5 altercation.
Officials said during the pretrial hearing that it would not delay Suggs’ murder trial, scheduled to begin Sept. 23 in front of Lake County Judge Daniel Shanes.
Suggs, of Kenosha, Wis., is accused of killing Melinda Morrell, 23, during a robbery of the Check N’ Go in the 1100 block of North Green Bay Road in Waukegan on May 21, 2007.
Suggs was arrested May 26, 2007, as he was fleeing the scene of an attempted robbery of the Ma and Pa’s Country Store in Beach Park, according to police. Police said Suggs attempted to shoot a clerk and a customer at the store during the holdup try, but the pistol he used failed to fire because it had not been properly loaded.
After ditching the gun following the botched robbery, Suggs was caught after he drove over the border into Wisconsin. Suggs confessed to the Waukegan robbery the day after his arrest, police said. Detectives from the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force questioned him about Morrell, who was found shot in the back of the head.
Suggs eventually admitted to the shooting, authorities said.
He is eligible for life in prison if found guilty of killing Morrell. He is held without bond in Lake County jail.