Why former Glendale Heights village president says he can’t get a fair trial in DuPage County

Claiming that he can’t get a fair trial on forgery, disorderly conduct and battery charges in DuPage County, Glendale Heights’ former village president is asking a court to ship his case off to Cook.

Chodri Khokhar filed a motion this week arguing that he has been “wrongfully framed into malicious prosecution” based on his race and political beliefs. Khokhar was born in Pakistan.

He alleges this was done by “political rivals” — including the Glendale Heights electoral board, the village’s police department and the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office — all of which “have a lot of influence in the County of DuPage.”

The motion also alleges that the DuPage judge currently presiding over the case, Daniel Guerin, “screamed” at Khokhar during a Feb. 10 hearing.

Khokhar, who served as village president from 2021 to 2025, was charged with felony disorderly conduct in 2023. The charge alleges he filed false police reports claiming he’d been threatened by another village board member.

A misdemeanor battery charge was added to that case in January 2024, accusing Khokhar of pushing Glendale Heights Police Chief George Pappas.

Then in July, he was hit with felony forgery and perjury charges involving nominating petitions submitted as part of his unsuccessful 2025 reelection campaign.

In court, Khokhar has accused prosecutors and investigators of “inventing” the charges against him. He’s also clashed with Guerin, including during a court hearing last month when the exasperated judge at one point exclaimed, “Would you stop talking when I’m talking!”

Khokhar campaigned for village president on promises to clean up village government, but his term was marked by contentious village board meetings in which he faced criticism from residents and fellow elected officials.

Arguments on his motion to move the case are set for April 30.

Deadly leafblower dispute

A state appeals court has upheld the unusual “not not guilty” finding for a Lake County octogenarian accused of killing his neighbor in a dispute over leaf blowing.

The finding typically occurs when a judge decides that a defendant is not mentally fit to stand trial, but evidence to convict exists and the person should remain in custody until a future date.

Ettore Lacchei, now 83, was found not not guilty of first-degree murder in November 2024, for the April 2023 slaying of next-door neighbor William Martys.

Authorities said Lacchei shot Martys, 59, in the head outside his Antioch Township home because dust from his leaf blowing was wafting onto Lacchei’s home.

In his appeal, Lacchei argued that the case against him was entirely circumstantial and lacked proof beyond a reasonable doubt: no one saw him shoot Martys; no one saw him with a weapon; no “reasonable” motive was established; and he didn’t confess or make incriminating statements.

However, the appellate court noted, there was significant evidence tying him to the crime: neighbors saw him arguing with Martys shortly before the deadly shooting; a gun found on a vacant lot nearby matched the one used in the murder; and Lacchei’s DNA was found on that gun.

“We find that the totality of the circumstantial evidence and the reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, viewed in the light most favorable to the State, established beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant shot and killed Martys,” Justice Robert D. McLaren wrote in the unanimous ruling issued Monday.

Lacchei remains in state custody undergoing mental health treatment until at least Aug. 15, 2029, at which time a court will determine whether he’s fit to stand trial, should continue treatment while in custody or be released.

Murder trial delayed

The trial of a 25-year-old West suburban Bellwood man charged with killing a teen during a 2021 gun sale in Naperville has been postponed by the discovery of new evidence.

Robert J. Chatman-Jones is charged with first-degree murder in the August 2021 shooting of Coreon Davis, 18, of Aurora. Police say he shot the teen when they argued over the price of a gun the younger man was selling him.

It was revealed Tuesday that prosecutors just found another piece of evidence — a shell casing — in a car in which Davis was a passenger. The defense now gets time to review the evidence and testing reports, forcing a delay in the trial that had been set to begin next week.

The trial is now set for Sept. 21.

Chatman-Jones’ attorneys have argued he acted in self-defense.

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