Attorney seeks plea deal in Antioch Twp. man's escape case
The attorney for an Antioch Township teen who violated the periodic imprisonment sentence he received in connection with an illegal street race that killed an Antioch High School girl said he is hopeful to resolve the case before trial.
Attorney Jed Stone said the case against Jeremy Betancourt, 19, is a "case that begs to be resolved short of trial," and he asked for a special meeting between Judge Victoria Rossetti and prosecutors to try and resolve it.
Stone said after court he is "looking for a sentence that will recognize (Betancourt's) strengths and weaknesses, and his bad choices." Stone would not say how long of a prison sentence he is seeking.
Betancourt faces a prison sentence of two to five years if found guilty on the charge of escape from the Lake County Sheriff's Community Based Correctional Center in April. He is also due to be resentenced 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.
Betancourt remains held in Lake County jail on $1 million bond.
He was sentenced to 30 months in the correction center 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 his vehicle and it flipped in the median. Perez, a back seat passenger in Betancourt's car, was ejected from the vehicle when it rolled. She died at the scene, authorities said.
As part of the plea deal he made with prosecutors in 2014, Betancourt agreed to follow the rules imposed at the correction center where he was serving his periodic imprisonment sentence.
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 never showed up in court, 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.
Stone made a motion to delay Betancourt's trial until Sept. 14.
Betancourt is due back in court Aug. 3.