Bail increase sought for Elgin kidnapping, cigarette torture suspect
Citing violations of an electronic home monitoring agreement, Kane County prosecutors want a judge to increase bail for one of four people accused in the kidnapping and cigarette torture of a teen in Elgin last year.
Prosecutors pointed to three violations in April in wanting to increase the bail for Megan A. Lino, 20, of Carpentersville, who faces numerous felony charges, including home invasion, robbery and aggravated battery.
Authorities say Lino and three others abducted a 19-year-old from an Elgin home in late February 2016, took her to another location in Elgin, forced her to strip and took her phone. She was then beaten, and cigarettes were used to burn a shoulder tattoo that matched that of her ex-boyfriend, Luis M. Palomar, who authorities contend masterminded the plot.
The teen was kept overnight and was told to shower because she was bleeding on a carpet, and authorities found her after someone called police to report a person being held against her will, according to police and court records.
Lino posted $15,000 in October 2016 and was put on electronic home monitoring, records show.
Prosecutors said in court documents Lino left her mom's home for four hours April 12, saying she dropped off her grandmother and ran errands with her mom.
Probation officers warned Lino and reminded her of the agreement, which allows her to go to work, court, doctor appointments and emergencies and to visit her attorney.
Lino violated the agreement twice the next day, leaving to pick up her grandmother and to go to her attorney's office to pay him, prosecutors argue. Lino failed to provide a receipt she paid her lawyer that day, they say.
On April 18, Lino violated the agreement when she took her grandmother on an errand, and for an hour the night of April 28 when she said she "went to the liquor store to talk to her boss," records show.
A message left for Tim Mahoney, Lino's attorney, was not immediately returned.
Judge James Hallock will hear arguments from attorneys June 2 regarding the move to increase bond.
The other defendants in the case were all being held at the Kane County jail on various bail amounts. No trial date has been set for Lino and the others, but if convicted, each faces up to 30 years in prison.