Articles Posted in Criminal Defense

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Officer Troy Fields is being credited with the arrest of an allegedly dangerously drunk and unlicensed driver.

The officer, who was driving south bound on First Avenue near Cermak Road last Saturday, spotted a car ahead of him “driving all over the road and into oncoming traffic.” Fields flashed his headlights at the oncoming traffic to warn other drivers and called 911. He then stayed with the car until police caught up with it.

Pawel Karpie, 24, was then pulled and given field sobriety tests which he allegedly failed. He was also found to never have been issued an Illinois driver’s license and driving without insurance. Breathalyzer test also showed his blood alcohol level to be more than twice the legal limit at .174.

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Reginald Hearon, 50, could find himself serving up to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to felony DUI and reckless homicide charges stemming from the deadly Kane County crash in 2008.

Hearon driving work at the Illinois Youth Center in St. Charles on the day of the crash when his van slammed head-on into an on-coming car as he allegedly tried to pass several vehicles on a two-lane highway. Craig Smith, 53, from St. Charles was killed in the collision.

A crash reconstruction concluded that Hearon was going at least 10mph over the speed limit and blood test taken after the crash found that he had alcohol, morphine and codeine in his system.

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Kelli and Jessica Uhl were killed in the November 2007 accident cause by former Illinois State Trooper Matt Mitchell.

Mitchell, who was responding to another accident, was driving at 126mph through busy traffic on Interstate 64 while sending and receiving emails and talking to his girlfriend on his mobile phone. He crossed the median and hit a car carrying four girls head on, killing two of the girls and injuring the other two.

Mitchell is now asking the state to compensate him for his injuries. Mitchell was suspended for nearly two years after the accident, but still drew his $68,000 annual salary.

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Alonso Huerta-Perez, 23, of Carpentersville is accused of fleeing a crash after blowing through a stop sign in West Chicago while intoxicated. Huerta-Perez collided with another car, killing the driver.

Huerta-Perez allegedly stated that he drank eight or nine beers before the crash. Five other people were in the car when it went through the stop sign and struck a vehicle driven by Austin Weidner, 27, of Schaumburg. Weidner was rushed to Central Dupage Hospital and pronounced dead.

Huerta-Perez’s vehicle overturned after the crash and he allegedly attempted to flee the scene with the other five passengers, but West Chicago police were able to apprehend him after a witness provided information. He was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash.

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Sandra Vasquez, 26, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after the fatal drunk-driving crash in 2007 that left five Oswego teens dead and three others injured. The prison term means Vasquez, the mother of two young children, will have to spend at least 12 1/2 years behind bars.

Initially, Vazquez faced up to 28 years in prison. Her request for probation was denied by Kendall County Judge Clint Hull who instead imposed the prison term. The jury deliberated for nearly 12 hours over two days before convicting Vasquez of reckless homicide and aggravated DUI. During deliberations, jurors watched a videotaped interrogation of Vasquez in which she told police that she had several drinks prior to driving the teens home but insisted she was not drunk.

Prosecutors presented evidence that Vasquez was drunk and speeding when her car swerved off Illinois 31 at hit a utility pole in the far west suburb of Aurora. Killed in the crash were Katherine Merkel, 14; James McGee,14; Jessica Nutoni, 15; Tiffany Urso, 16; and Matthew Frank, 17. Vasquez and three other passengers were seriously injured but survived.

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Oswaldo Gonzalez, 36, was charged in May with Reckless Homicide and several different DUI charges after allegedly rear-ending a silver Kia Rio in the 3500 block of West 30th Street. Alicia Pedroza, 58, was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital. Two other people and an infant were also injured.

Gonzalez was allegedly driving at high speeds for several blocks and blew through a number of stop signs before hitting Pedroza. Gonzalez was not authorized to take the car belonging to a family member and had to be subdued with a taser after the crash.

Pedroza’s daughter, Victoria Luna, filed suit against Gonzalez asking for an unspecified amount of damages. The suit also names Flor Aranda, the owner of the minivan driven by Gonzalez.

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The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the law punishing underage drinkers by suspending their Illinois driver’s license is constitutional. The court found that the legislature made a reasonable connection between the offense and the consequence, explaining that these offenders may wind up driving while under the influence of alcohol. A trial court in Clinton County had found that the law was unconstitutional, violating the driver’s due process rights by suspending a driver’s license for an offense that does not involve driving. The law, which went into effect in January 2008, requires suspension of driving privileges if a person receives court supervision or a conviction for unlawful consumption of alcohol under 21 years of age.

Taking licenses of underage drinkers OKd, www.suntimes.com, June 25, 2010
Court OKs Yanking Driver Licenses Over Underage Drinking, www.nbcchicago.com, June 24, 2010