Man convicted of June home invasion in Lake in the Hills
A Maywood man was found guilty Thursday of several charges tied to a June 26 Lake in the Hills home invasion.
McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge convicted 42-year-old Deon Duff of home invasion, criminal trespass to residence and aggravated fleeing police. A brief trial-by-judge that began and concluded Wednesday included testimony from police, neighbors and the victim's roommates at the time.
The victim did not testify or attend Wednesday's trial.
Prosecutors and Duff's public defenders all declined to comment after court Thursday.
Duff was accused of dragging a woman into her Lake in the Hills home on June 26, beating her and then leading police on a high-speed chase as he fled the scene. Locked in another room, the woman's two roommates listened as they heard Duff beat the victim inside the home, the pair testified.
A neighbor who heard screaming outside her window was the first person to call 911. The caller, Shannon Flores, reported seeing a man dragging a woman by her hair into the home.
After the altercation, Duff took off in a black Audi. He sped more than 21 mph above the speed limit as police attempted to pull over the vehicle, Lake in the Hills Police Officer Sean Feely said.
Duff originally was charged with home invasion, aggravated battery, aggravated domestic battery, criminal trespass to residence and aggravated fleeing police, but the judge dismissed several counts before closing arguments Wednesday.
Because no evidence was presented at trial proving Duff and the woman were in a dating relationship, Coppedge dismissed both counts of domestic battery and aggravated domestic battery.
The judge also dismissed a count of aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm, since prosecutors failed to show the woman suffered broken or fractured ribs, as originally alleged.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. April 9.
The most serious charge, home invasion, is punishable by as many as 30 years in prison. Prosecutors previously offered Duff a plea deal that would have resulted in a four-year prison sentence, but Duff declined.