May 01, 2024
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Court hearing set on how alleged Boulder Hill shooter would make bail

The motion would require Brown to prove evidence on how he would receive funds to pay the $200,000 deposit on his $2 million dollar bail.

By Lucas Robinson

FILE PHOTO: Kendall County Sheriff's Deputies closed Sierra Road north of Saugatuck Road in the unincorporated Boulder Hill subdivision late Wednesday morning, Nov. 11, 2020 to investigate a shooting that left one woman dead and another injured. (Shea Lazansky)

A hearing has been set in Kendall County Court to determine how one of the men charged in a fatal drive-by shooting in Boulder Hill last fall would receive the money to pay the $200,000 bail he needs to get out of jail.

James E. Brown Jr., 26, of the 200 block of Linn Court, North Aurora, appeared at the Kendall County Courthouse in Yorkville Tuesday, April 13 after the Kendall County State’s Attorney filed a motion requesting the court find out how Brown would plan to pay his bail. Brown was found to be unemployed and had no income during pre-trial hearing on prior felony charges.

The prosecution’s motion also notes that Brown admitted to being a member of a street gang during an interview with law enforcement after the shooting that killed Cassandra Chatman and gravely wounded her daughter, Changina Chatman, at a residence in the unincorporated subdivision on Nov 11.

The motion would require Brown to prove evidence on how he would receive funds to pay the $200,000 deposit on his $2 million dollar bail.

Joseph Lopez, Brown’s attorney who has represented alleged members of organized crime in Chicago, called the prosecution’s motion “premature.”

“My client is a long way from the $200,000 cash deposit he would need to get out of custody,” Lopez said in court Tuesday.

Assistant State’s Attorney Mark Shlifka would not comment on why the prosecution filed the motion.

Brown faces four felony charges stemming from the shooting, including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated discharge of a firearm.

Brown’s alleged accomplice in the shooting, Jaquarance Handley, 31, of the 900 block of Bluebell Circle in Joliet, faces identical charges.

Kendall County authorities apprehended Brown and Handley, and recovered the AR-15 that was allegedly used within hours of the shooting with assistance from local residents and the Aurora Police Department. Both Brown and Handley have been in custody at the Kendall County Jail since Nov. 11.

Brown’s bail fund hearing will be held on Thursday, May 6.

James E. Brown, Jr.

James E. Brown, Jr.