Cops & Crime: Naperville teen in trouble over bogus tollway citations
Kids find all sorts of creative ways to get themselves into trouble, but this one surprised even us.
A Naperville teen is in a bind for sending at least seven people phony tollway violation notices last spring, according to seven felony forgery charges he's now facing in DuPage County juvenile court.
A report from the tollway's inspector general says the bogus citations looked similar to official notices but included non-tollway payment instructions and contact information. The tollway asked Illinois State Police to investigate the fake notices after receiving a complaint from a tollway user.
Although DuPage County prosecutors can't publicly say whether anyone sent the teen money, the fact he's charged only with forgery - and not, say, theft - is a clue that he probably didn't make money off the scheme. Charging documents don't specify where the counterfeit notices asked for payment to be sent.
The teen, who is not in custody, is set to appear in court on the charges Thursday.
Unhappy customer?
Speaking of the tollway and crime, DuPage County courts reporter Justin Kmitch tipped us off to an arrest warrant issued Wednesday for an Evanston woman who, authorities say, mailed an envelope Sept. 15 containing a granular substance - along with an unpublishable message - to the tollway headquarters in Downers Grove.
Cassandra M. Shepard, 28, faces a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge for “causing alarm and disruption” throughout the tollway building, court documents say.
<h3 class="leadin">Mt. Prospect cop goes on trial
Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the trial of a highly decorated Mount Prospect police sergeant facing a pair of felony charges - and almost certainly the end of his law enforcement career - stemming from allegations he fought with a family member and then a police officer during a domestic disturbance last year.
Sgt. Anthony Lietzow, 45, was charged with aggravated domestic battery and aggravated battery to a peace officer after the July 19, 2015, altercation at his home in Huntley. Lietzow, who at the time was an 11-year veteran of the Mount Prospect force, has been on leave ever since.
His attorney, Phil Prossnitz, says Lietzow's defense will show that no domestic battery occurred and his client scuffled with Huntley officers only because he initially believed they were intruders.
“They entered his home without a warrant,” Prossnitz said. “Once he realized they were police officers, he was cooperative.”
Lietzow's trial is expected to last about four days. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of three to seven years in prison.
The other drug problem
When we think about teens getting into trouble with drugs, marijuana probably comes first to mind. Maybe heroin in a worst-case scenario.
But a prescription drug taken for anxiety and panic disorder?
What happened last week in Tower Lakes should serve as a reminder that what kids find in our medicine cabinets can be just as dangerous as what they can buy on the streets.
Five juveniles were treated for overdoses over the weekend after they mixed two-year-old Xanax pills with alcohol during a house party.
Lake County sheriff's Sgt. Sara Balmes said abuse of prescription drugs among young people is a growing problem and in some cases leads to dalliances with more dangerous drugs like heroin.
“They're more accessible to kids,” Balmes said of the prescription drugs. “They're going into medicine cabinets and taking it.”
Fortunately, all the overdose victims in Tower Lakes have recovered. Authorities say the parents whose home hosted the party were unaware of the drug and alcohol use, and the Xanax was brought by one of the juveniles who attended the party. None of them will be charged, Balmes said.
“Hopefully this will be an eye-opener for them,” she said.
Legal consequences
September ended on a sour note for about 20 Chicago-area lawyers who received punishments handed down by the Illinois Supreme Court ranging from suspension to disbarment for various misdeeds.
Among them: Joel S. Alpert of Buffalo Grove, disbarred after he was caught practicing law during a two-year suspension issued for previous misconduct; Bradley F. Aubel of Libertyville, disbarred for being convicted in federal court of obstruction of justice and filing a false income tax return; Christopher Beck of Wheaton, disbarred for misappropriating $889,000 of clients' funds; and Robert Danny Lattas of Oak Brook, disbarred after a federal conviction on charges of wire and mail fraud.
Play ball
Usually when the members of the DuPage County and Kane County bar associations face off in front of a judge, it's taking place in a courtroom.
Last week, they did it on a softball field at Benedictine University in Lisle, and they raised more than $10,000 for legal assistance programs in the process.
The Kane County lawyers scored 2 runs in the seventh and final inning of the hard-fought contest to edge out the DuPage team by a 2-1 score. A crowd of about 250 turned out to watch the game, in which judges served as umpires as well as the public address announcer.
The game benefitted the DuPage Legal Assistance Foundation and the Kane County Bar Foundation.
Got a tip? Have a question? Please email Charles Keeshan and Susan Sarkauskas at copsandcrime@dailyherald.com, or call our tip line at (847) 427-4483.