Briefs: Sex abuse suspect indicted
An Elgin man was indicted by a grand jury this week on sex assault and abuse charges stemming from his alleged encounters with a girlfriend's 8- and 12-year-old daughters, Cook County prosecutors announced Friday. Tacuma Evans, 34, of the 1100 block of Spruce Lane in Elgin, is charged with various counts of predatory criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual abuse, authorities said. Evans molested the girls in December 2006 at his home, prosecutors said. Authorities could not say why it's taken nearly a year for the charges to be filed. Evans was arrested in September. His bond was set at $150,000, and he remains in jail. His next court date is scheduled for Nov. 7 in Rolling Meadows.
2 killed in collision
A school bus hit a sport utility vehicle in southern Wisconsin, killing two Chicago-area residents and injuring nine students. The bus, carrying 26 faculty and students from Lake Geneva's Badger High School soccer team, broadsided a Chevrolet Blazer around 6:30 p.m. Friday, according to Walworth County Sheriff David Graves. Nine students went to two hospitals with minor injuries. Most had been released by late Friday, Graves said. The Blazer's male driver died on the scene, and the female passenger died about two hours later at a hospital. Graves wouldn't immediately release any information about the victims, except that they were from the Chicago area.
Counterfeiter gets real time
Apparently a vow made by Arthur Williams Jr. to reform after he served a three-year prison sentence for making counterfeit bills in Alaska was as bogus as the money he was passing along to unwitting recipients. Williams on Thursday was sentenced to more than seven years in prison by U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan. In 2005, after completing his sentence, Williams, 34, detailed his counterfeiting skills in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine. He told the magazine that he had produced millions of dollars in counterfeit cash during a career that stretched back to his teenage years. But he asserted during the interview that he now was on the straight-and-narrow. But with the profile still fresh in the memories of law enforcement officials, he was producing at least $89,000 in counterfeit bills before he was arrested in Chicago in summer 2006, according to prosecutors.
$10,000 reward offered
Chicago police are asking for the public's help in finding the man who fatally shot the son of one of their officers outside a restaurant on the city's Southwest Side. Police said 23-year-old Ronald Heard Jr. was shot multiple times early Sunday morning at a White Castle drive-through when he intervened in a fight between the gunman and a young woman. Heard was the son, godson and nephew of Chicago police officers. Police Cmdr. Patricia Walsh said investigators are reviewing surveillance video from the restaurant and a nearby police camera and are trying to enhance the images. The Fraternal Order of Police is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the killer's arrest and conviction.
Teacher alleges bias
A veteran teacher is suing the East Aurora School District, alleging he was removed from several coaching jobs because of his age and race. Robert E. Green of Oswego, who is black, coached until about two years ago, when young, white teachers were given the jobs instead, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court. Attorney Arthur Ehrlich says after Green, 52, filed discrimination complaints with the state, he was moved from teaching physical education to serving as an in-house suspension teacher. District officials told Green there had been complaints about his coaching performance but didn't provide him with details, Ehrlich said. Green is still employed by the district. A spokesman for the school district refused to comment on the lawsuit.