Articles Posted in Criminal Defense

25 year old and mother of one, Michelle Eustis, died of head injuries and trauma after her boyfriend allegedly struck the horse she and a friend were riding with his truck.

Eustis, her friend Heather France, and a few others were socializing in a Balmoral Park barn in Crete when the two girls decided to take Rendezvous, a horse trained by Eustis’ father, out for a ride bareback late that night. When the women didn’t return after a half hour, Eustis’ boyfriend, Angus Lake, jumped into his Dodge Ram and went looking for them.

An accident reconstruction determined Lake came up on the women too fast and tried to brake, sending his truck into a slide and striking the horse. Lake admitted to having as many as six shots before getting into his vehicle. His blood alcohol level was 0.147, nearly twice the legal limit. France suffered a broken leg and shoulder and may have been left partially paralyzed by the accident.

Elvis Hernandez, 28, was pronounced dead last week at Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago after being hospitalized for over a year resulting form a hit-and-run DUI crash in west suburban Aurora. Hernandez was the passenger of a SUV being driven by his friend David Solis, 28, when the vehicle crashed into the back of a 2009 International 4400 box truck that was stopped in traffic.

Solis allegedly abandoned the SUV with his friend in the front passenger seat at an adjoining gas station and fled the scene on foot. When Aurora police arrived on scene they found Hernandez suffering from major head trauma. Paramedics took Hernandez to Rush Copley Medical Center. Solis returned to the scene 45 minutes after the accident and was arrested after witnesses identified him as the driver. Solis was charged with driving under the influence of drugs, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, driving on a suspended license and driving without insurance.

Kane County State’s Attorney and Aurora police are working together to pursue upgraded charges against Solis since the death of Hernandez.

Roel Valle, Lynwood Village Clerk, has been charged with reckless homicide and driving under the influence after a crash that resulted in the death of a Chicago woman.

Melika LIttle, 32, mother of four children, was killed in the crash after Valle allegedly drove his village-owned vehicle the wrong direction on Iliinois Highway 394. Valle collided with a car carrying Little. The driver of the car Little was a passenger in was also charged with DUI.

The Little family has filed a civil suit against the village of Lynwood and Valle. Valle is also facing two felony charges and could be sentenced up to 19 years in prison.

20 year old, Francisco Campos, was charged with aggravated DUI resulting in an accidental death, Chicago police said.

Campos was driving a 2003 Ford Explorer SUV that allegedly sped through a stop sign around two in the morning and struck another vehicle driven by Bahara Echmail. Campos’ SUV struck two other parked cars before also hitting a tree. Campos could be facing felony DUI charges.

Echmail, whose Orthodox Christian family fled religious persecution in Iraq about five years before, was pronounced dead at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. His 14 year old sister, Berola, was one of four teens injured in the collision

Luis Benito, 17, has been charged with four counts of aggravated DUI and reckless homicide and could face up to 14 years each on the two most serious counts against him. Judge Marzell Richardson set his bond at $1 million dollars.

Benito had allegedly been drinking at a nightclub, Rancho Santa Fe. Shortly before the crash, Benito was seen doing “donuts” in the Bolingbrook nightclub’s parking lot. After a bouncer from Rancho Santa Fe pointed his flashlight at Benito, the teen allegedly drove the 2002 Chevy Blazer directly at him, forcing him to dodge the vehicle.

At around 2:30 a.m., Benito and another passenger headed home, deciding to park between two apartment buildings because the main parking lots were full. However, the SUV allegedly sped through a garden-level apartment window fatally crushing Josephina Prospero. Prospero, 46, who was asleep in her bed was pronounced dead at the scene. Benito’s mother and Prospero worked together at a local hotel and were friends.

22-year-old, Doreen Cardenas, and a 22-year-old man she was with were rushed to the hospital after being struck by a car in an early morning hit and run in North Aurora. Cardenas was pronounced dead at Provena-Mercy Hospital at 2:35 a.m. The man remained hospitalized but his condition was not made available.

The couple were standing outside the driver’s side of Cardena’s parked 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier when a vehicle allegedly side-swiped the car and struck them. A bystander found the two victims lying in the street at 42 S Grant Street.

At approximately 5 a.m., Lee Roy Patterson, a 30-year-old Aurora man, walked into the Aurora Police department and turned himself in. Patterson has been charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident involving a death, an additional count of leaving the scene where a person was injured, and failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident. Patterson faces a Class 1 felony which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.