Antioch Township teen pleads not guilty to escape
An Antioch Township teen accused of not returning to jail to complete his periodic imprisonment sentence for killing a 16-year-old girl during an illegal street race in Gurnee pleaded not guilty to an escape charge Wednesday.
Jeremy Betancourt, 19, faces a prison sentence of two to five years if found guilty on the charge, should the case go to trial. In addition, Judge Victoria Rossetti could resentence Betancourt to 3 to 14 years in prison for violating parole on an aggravated driving under the influence of drugs charge from the 2013 crash that killed 16-year-old Cynthia Perez of Antioch.
Defense attorney LaTonya Burton did not comment on the charges after court Wednesday.
Betancourt remains held in Lake County jail on $1 million bond. His trial is scheduled for Aug. 10.
Betancourt was sentenced to 30 months of periodic imprisonment in June 2014 after pleading guilty to charges he had marijuana in his system during an illegal street race with another vehicle on Route 120 in Gurnee.
Police determined Betancourt was traveling at 77 mph to 87 mph when he lost control of the car he was driving and it flipped in the median. Perez, a back seat passenger in Betancourt's car, was ejected from the vehicle when it rolled and she died at the scene, authorities said.
Betancourt and two others were injured but survived the crash.
As part of the plea deal he made with prosecutors in 2014, Betancourt agreed to follow the rules imposed at the community-based correction center where he was serving his periodic imprisonment sentence.
At the time of his sentencing, Rossetti ordered that Betancourt be released only to attend school, court or counseling.
On April 29, Betancourt was released from the correction center to attend a hearing before Rossetti on a petition to revoke his probation for repeatedly violating court orders while serving that periodic imprisonment sentence.
Betancourt did not attend the hearing and was picked up about a week later in Chicago, authorities said.
Court records show prosecutors filed the motion to revoke Betancourt's probation because he violated correction center rules on at least eight occasions, including being absent without proper authorization and trying to bring a cellphone and cigarettes into the center.
Perez's mother, Hilda Hinkle, said previously she wanted Betancourt sentenced to prison for 15 years due to the repeated violations.
Hinkle attended Betancourt's hearing Wednesday, but did not comment afterward.
Betancourt is due back in court July 20 for a pretrial hearing.