Local Crime

A DeKalb man convicted of murdering high school teenager Gracie Sasso-Cleveland in 2023 has new charges after he punched a DeKalb County jail deputy and spit at another, broke a fire sprinkler and damaged jail property, court records allege.

The Iroquois County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a shooting Monday that left one person dead and the alleged shooter arrested.

A Plano man has been found guilty of criminal sexual assault to a teenager after a four-day trial this month.

A motion was approved Monday to deny pre-trial release for a Chicago man accused of crashing his car into the attached garage of an Elmhurst home while fleeing from police, prosecutors said.

A Joliet man is being held in Will County jail for allegedly stabbing a woman during an incident in which he was stabbed in the chest.

Joliet police are investigating a weekend shooting which left two homes and six vehicles damaged by gunfire.

A 24-year-old man was shot to death Saturday evening during an altercation in Downers Grove, police said.

Three teenagers have been arrested and charged in connection to a Monday shooting in DeKalb, police said Thursday.

A man wanted for a shooting that occurred last month in Paducah, Kentucky, was arrested Monday by Kankakee police.

Wednesday marks two years since DeKalb police found 15-year-old Gracie Sasso-Cleveland. dead. And while the man responsible has since pleaded guilty, he’s not yet received a prison sentence. “Losing a child changes you in every way,” her mom Ericka Sasso said.

Charges have been filed against five Venezuelan migrants, all male juveniles currently residing in Chicago, for allegedly stealing merchandise from two Oak Brook stores in two unrelated incidents.

DeKalb police are investigating a shooting Monday night outside apartment buildings on Kimberly Drive. Police Chief David Byrd said no victims or suspects have been identified as of about 8 p.m.

Downers Grove and Woodridge police are investigating several commercial burglaries that occurred in both communities in the early morning hours Sunday, authorities said.

Pre-trial release was denied a Chicago woman accused of leading police on a chase from Bloomingdale to Lombard after an alleged retail theft Friday by her passenger.

A DeKalb man has been charged with 15 counts of circulating materials online, including video and photographs, depicting child sexual abuse, court records show.

A DeKalb man who pleaded guilty in February to murdering teenager Gracie Sasso-Cleveland in 2023 won’t be sentenced as planned this week. Instead, Timothy Doll, 31, has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, court records show.

A motion was granted Wednesday to detain pre-trial an Oak Park man accused of leading police on a high-speed chase, prosecutors said.

A Woodridge man accused of killing a bicyclist while driving drunk and then fleeing the scene was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison.

A 54-year-old Chicago man is charged with first-degree murder after authorities said he spat on a Glendale Heights woman and stabbed her in the back Thursday near a CTA green line stop in Chicago.

Downers Grove police are investigating an armed robbery that took place Friday in the 1600 block of 75th Street.

A motion to deny pre-trial release for a Lombard man accused of crashing into another vehicle after fleeing from police at a high rate of speed, prosecutors said.

A Will County judge Thursday granted a two-year, no-contact order against a Neuqua Valley High School English teacher accused of grooming and sexually abusing a 16-year-old student.

Six people are in custody after Downers Grove police say a woman was the victim of an armed robbery Tuesday night.

A Georgia man is facing federal charges for threatening a spiritual mission based in West Chicago.

The niece of a man killed during a confrontation with Carol Stream police last year has pleaded guilty to making threats against officers during a protest over the deadly shooting.

Four Cook County men have been charged with stealing from multiple Home Depot stores located in DuPage County, prosecutors said.

A Woodridge woman has plead guilty to fraudulently applying for and receiving a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan and an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) totaling about $28,408 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul

Convicted murderer Jonathan D. Hurst has asked a DeKalb County judge to reconsider the two life sentences she handed him last month for the violent murders of Sycamore elderly mother and son Patricia Wilson and Robert Wilson, court records show.

A motion was denied Wednesday to detain pre-trial a Hanover Park cleaning woman charged with stealing more than $20,000 worth of jewelry from three clients’ homes, prosecutors said.

The 2024 crime rate for each Kankakee, Bourbonnais and Bradley police departments showed each trending down.

A Somonauk 19-year-old was sentenced this week to 25 years and three months in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping in connection to the repeated sexual assault of a minor, court records show.

A Yorkville man has been charged after he attempted to hire an undercover police officer posing at a hitman to kill a woman, according to a news release from the Yorkville Police Department.

A half hour before jury selection was to begin Monday for a DeKalb bank robbery trial, the man accused asked a judge to postpone, arguing prosecutors didn’t give him enough time to review evidence. Lead prosecutor Daniel Regna said that Matthew L. Martin was “gaming the system."

The Downers Grove South High School teacher accused of sexually abusing a student wrote what police called a “memoir” about the matter on her phone.

Jury selection for the trial of Chicago man charged with robbing a DeKalb bank in July 2024 is set to start Monday, after the man accused, who’s representing himself in court, rejected two plea offers from prosecutors.

Matthew L. Martin, charged in a July 2024 DeKalb bank robbery, was back in the courtroom Thursday representing himself at a pretrial hearing as he considers an updated plea offer from the DeKalb County State's Attorney's Office. His jury trial is expected to start Monday.

A motion was granted Wednesday to deny pre-trial release for a Chicago man accused of firing a handgun at a Juneteenth celebration in unincorporated Willowbrook in 2023, prosecutors said.

A Chicago man charged with robbing a DeKalb bank in July 2024 declined prosecutors’ guilty plea offer Wednesday that included a 24-year prison sentence served at 50%. He opted instead to proceed to an expected jury trial Monday. He plans to represent himself.

A DeKalb man has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder of a baby. Prosecutors recently told a judge they’re gathering evidence in the case, expected to include cellphone videos of Maximino Mendoza, 26, intentionally choking and hurting a 1-year-old.

A Chicago man accused in a DeKalb bank robbery has dismissed his defense attorney as he prepares to represent himself in a jury trial set to convene next week.

A former Addison Public Library employee has pleaded guilty to possession of child sex abuse materials

Former NIU running back LeShon Johnson was charged in connection to illegal dog fighting after federal authorities seized 190 dogs from his Oklahoma property, the U.S. Department of Justice announced this week.

A Glendale Heights woman has been charged with driving under the influence of cannabis in a 2024 crash in Addison that killed a truck driver.

A woman accused of causing a disturbance at a business Saturday and pepper-spraying Addison police officers who were trying to subdue her is facing several charges.

Pre-trial release has been denied for a Chicago man accused of leading police on a high-speed chase, prosecutors said.

Pre-trial release was denied for two Naperville individuals accused of robbing a Lisle convenience store at knifepoint and attempting to rob a woman at a Naperville bank, prosecutors said.

A motion was granted Thursday to deny pre-trial release for a Chicago man accused of leading police on a high-speed chase in a stolen Toyota 4Runner, prosecutors said.

A DuPage County jury on Thursday found a DeKalb man guilty of shooting a man in the face during his dinner break from work in 2021, prosecutors said.

Nancy Strever said her family still has nightmares about finding her sister Patricia Wilson and nephew Robert Wilson beaten to death in 2016. But the man responsible, Jonathan D. Hurst, 56, will spend the rest of his life in prison, a judge ruled Thursday.

Jonathan Hurst, found guilty on Jan. 30 of murdering Sycamore elderly mother and son Patricia Wilson and Robert Wilson in 2016, wants a new trial, court records show. He's set to be sentenced Thursday by Judge Marcy Buick.