SYCAMORE – A DeKalb man scheduled to begin a prison sentence this week, but who has been jailed on theft charges since last week, now faces additional child pornography charges.
Richard C. Griffith-Perez, 19, of the 800 block of Charles Street in DeKalb, has been in jail since Thursday, when he and four others were arrested for retail theft. He was scheduled to begin a 180-day prison term Friday after reaching a plea agreement last month on aggravated battery charges.
On Tuesday, Griffith-Perez was charged with possessing nude photos of an underage girl on his cellphone. He appeared at the DeKalb County Courthouse on Tuesday via closed-circuit television from the DeKalb County Jail. He is charged with five counts of child pornography, a Class 3 felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
The plea agreement for which Griffith-Perez was scheduled to begin his prison term on was in connection to an April 20, 2010, incident, when he and a juvenile offender were charged with beating another juvenile. Griffith-Perez was charged with mob action and aggravated battery. He pleaded guilty to aggravated battery April 28, receiving 30 months probation and 180 days of periodic imprisonment on a work-release program.
After Griffith-Perez was arrested Thursday for retail theft, prosecutors filed a petition to revoke the plea agreement. Circuit Judge Robbin Stuckert set his bond at $75,000. After the child porn charges were added Tuesday, an additional $150,000 bond was added, meaning he would have to post $22,500 to be released.
The arrest Thursday included four co-defendants: Andrea McIntyre, 34, and Boston McDonald, 19, of the 200 block of John Street in DeKalb; and Patrick Brantner, 20, and Kayla Schubbe, 19, of the 300 block of Sycamore Road in DeKalb.
All five were arrested for reportedly filling a plastic tote at Walmart with a variety of items and leaving the store without paying for the tote or the items inside, which were valued at more than $600. According to court documents, all five participated in filling the tote, which McIntyre attempted to leave with. The incident happened shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday. Less than two hours earlier, McIntyre made a court appearance during which a June 28 bench trial was scheduled on charges of aggravated battery against a police officer. McIntyre also was charged April 22 with retail theft.
Like Griffith-Perez, Brantner recently reached a plea agreement, which prosecutors have filed a petition to revoke after Thursday's arrest. Brantner was charged Jan. 4 with having unlawful contact with gang members. He was ordered to have no contact with gang members as part of an earlier armed robbery sentence, according to court documents.
Brantner accepted a plea agreement April 7, pleading guilty to the charge in exchange for a seven-day jail sentence and another order that he have no contact with gang members. That order specifically listed five individuals Brantner was ordered to have no contact with. One of the five was Griffith-Perez.
McDonald had been scheduled to appear in court May 25 for a status hearing. He was charged with obstructing justice during a Sept. 8 incident in which he reportedly furnished false information to police officers regarding a traffic accident.
Prosecutors said the fifth co-defendant, Schubbe, has no criminal history other than traffic offenses.