Recently in Other Felonies Category

Suburban Chicago police officer Randall Caudill Jr. was ordered held on $200,000 on charges that he was plotting to steal from suspected drug dealers, the Chicago Daily Herald reported. The arrest came after a lengthy undercover investigation. He made his first court appearance via video feed from the jail after having already been charged with four counts of official misconduct.

Randall Caudill's counsel, Chicago criminal defense attorney Jeff Fawell, said he is trying to lower his client's bail so he can be with his family as he awaits trial:

"He's not a flight risk. He has three kids he adores and would never abandon."

Chicago police are questioning a man they say is the prime suspect in the hit-and-run death of 11-year-old Itali Hinton, according to the Chicago Tribune. The fatal incident took place in the South Shore neighborhood earlier this week.

And since there were reportedly several witnesses to the accident, the man's Chicago criminal attorney (if he is charged with the crime) might have a difficult time defending his client's actions. If he ran a red light before the collision, as witnesses claim, it could make the defendant's charges even more difficult to defend against.

Itali Hinton and her father were returning home from a visit with her grandmother, crossing a street, when a van that witnesses say ran a red light struck her. She was dragged a short distance, but that was enough to sustain fatal injuries. She was pronounced dead at Comer Children's Hospital at the University of Chicago shortly after. 

About 2,200 people were charged with narcotics-related offenses during a federal nationwide drug raid, including nine in Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reported. The Chicago bust netted 44 kilograms (nearly 100 pounds) of heroin and eight kilograms (more than 17 pounds) of cocaine, according to federal authorities.

The nationwide investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were dubbed "Project Deliverance" and targeted Mexican drug-trafficking organizations selling in the United States.

In addition to the drugs, authorities seized cash and a handgun.

There are probably a couple of different ways to get the police to respond to your car theft report a little quicker. But faking a gunshot and calling 911 is probably not one of them.

Yet, that's exactly what 21-year-old admitted gang member Joshua Coleman did, according to a Chicago Sun-Times article. It appears he didn't quite think his plan through and now will need the services of a Chicago criminal attorney.

An obviously uninjured Joshua Coleman reportedly told police "I'm the one who called" when they saw him at the scene of the crime.

As Chicago's residents prepare for summer and more time soaking up the sun along beachfront beaches, Ald. Vi Daley (43rd) is calling for police to install more surveillance cameras, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. As the weather heats up, so have incidents of beach violence along the North Avenue beach.

Vi Daley said she wants to curb gang activity at the beaches and believes cameras are one way to keep gang members away, or at least on their best behavior/

Chicago has seen more than its fair share of violence lately; so much, in fact, that state lawmakers last month called for the National Guard to step in and help keep the peace, according to CBS News. Chicago has had 113 homicide victims in so far this year, keeping Chicago criminal attorneys busy, and we haven't even reached the halfway point.

New Trier High School senior Erin Hughes was ordered held on a $500,000 bond after she admitted to police that she had smoked marijuana the night before a hitting and seriously injuring teenager Sarah Goone the next afternoon, the Chicago Tribune reported. However, it's not clear whether or not she was actually under the influence when the incident occurred.

What's clear is she stands accused of committing a hit and run. Formally, she has been charged with failure to report an accident involving personal injury, failure to give information or render aid and failure to exercise due care. The victim remains in critical condition after undergoing emergency brain surgery. 

Erin Hughes was turning left while looking to the right, hoping to catch a glimpse of a friend she was meeting, when she said she heard screams and a thudding sound. She saw Sarah Goone lying on the pavement after looking in her rear view mirror but fled the scene.

It's not often that we hear positive news about Chicago crime. So windy city citizens should embrace the news that the violent crime rate dipped 11 percent in April, according to the Chicago Tribune. And the murder rate is below the five-year average for the month.

The statistics come from Chicago's top cop, police Supt. Jody Weis, who dispelled the myth that crime has been unusually bad in the first months of spring:

"While the public perception is that violence has increased to unprecedented levels, the facts do not support that conclusion."

According to Rush University biochemistry professor Marcello DelCarlo, homemade explosives found in his garage by police were intended to be used as fireworks, as reported by the Chicago Tribune. His counsel, Chicago criminal attorney Scott Yu, also insisted that his client's homemade explosives were for "peaceful" purposes:

"They're nothing more than glorified firecrackers that the defendant was making to celebrate the 4th of July." 

But prosecutors aren't buying it.

School Superintendent Eric Witherspoon warned students and informed Evanston Township High School staff that students could be prosecuted for posting "malicious" content on a Facebook page named "Evanston Rats," according to the Chicago Tribune. That means that cyberbullies better watch out.

And according to the article, police also have gotten involved. So what's the big deal?

It may seem odd that someone would have to call a Chicago criminal attorney because of something they typed on Facebook. But the Cyberbullying Research Center shows just how hurtful this form of harassment can be. Cyberbullies can do a lot of damage.  

A five-month joint investigation by the Cook County Sheriff's Financial Crimes Unit, several Chicago-area police department and the US Postal Inspection Service brought down a massive identity theft ring, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Dubbed "Operation Quick Change," the investigation led to the arrest of seven young women from the south Chicago suburbs and further downstate.

They stand accused of charging more than $300,000 in at least 500 transactions with credit cards obtained through stolen personal information. Sheriffs said the group bought expensive consumer goods such as appliances and furniture, selling them to friends and relatives for cash.

One of the ringleaders is in police custody and most likely has called a Chicago criminal defense attorney by now, while the six other suspects are thought to have fled the area.