Inmate gets out of jail, but goes to another
Inhak Cho finally is getting his wish: a way out of the McHenry County jail.
But instead of heading off a free man, Cho is going in handcuffs and shackles to a state prison, an unintended result of his foiled escape attempt earlier this week.
A McHenry County judge Thursday ordered Cho, 46, of Algonquin, sent to the Illinois Department of Corrections to serve what's left of a six-year prison term handed down last year for aggravated domestic battery and firearms charges.
Cho had been allowed to remain in the county jail rather than go to state prison immediately after sentencing because he still is awaiting trial on 2006 kidnapping charges involving the same victim. Staying in the county jail allowed him to remain in closer contact with his attorney as they prepared a defense.
Judge Sharon Prather revoked that courtesy Thursday morning after learning Cho was caught Tuesday trying to escape his jail cell by carving into an 18-inch-thick concrete wall with two metal chisels he crafted out of cleaning equipment.
McHenry County prosecutors filed an emergency motion asking for Cho's removal from the jail because of the attempted escape.
"We believe he presents a risk of harm to the McHenry County corrections staff as well as other inmates in the jail," Assistant State's Attorney Donna Kelly said. "We also believe he is a flight risk."
Cho appeared in court to hear Prather's decision, his arms handcuffed behind his back and his legs shackled, but did not speak on his own behalf. He was surrounded by two corrections officers and four courthouse security officers while two other corrections officers stood nearby.
His defense lawyer, William Bligh, noted that McHenry County sheriff's officials said Wednesday that Cho's escape attempt had no chance of success.
"The state's contention is that Mr. Cho is a flight risk, and I have to dispute that," he said.
Corrections officers discovered Cho's escape plans Tuesday afternoon after receiving a tip from a confidential informant. Authorities said Cho was using the metal pieces to chisel away at a concrete block wall that separates his second-floor cell from the outside, then covering up his efforts with toothpaste.
By the time it was discovered Tuesday, Cho had created a hole about 18 inches wide and more than an inch deep in the wall.
The effort never got Cho close to freedom, but instead landed him in a segregated portion of the county jail. He also has been charged with possession of a weapon in a penal institution and criminal damage to state supported property, felonies that could land him in prison for another 15 years.
The kidnapping charges stem from an April 2006 incident in which, authorities say, he abducted his former girlfriend from a residence in Carpentersville and held her against her will in the Algonquin home they once shared. The kidnapping ended when police rescued the woman.