Chicago sex offender to remain in custody, deemed sexually violent
A Cook County jury has ruled that a registered sex offender from Chicago with a long history of attacking girls and women is a sexually violent person and should remain in custody.
Following the verdict, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Peggy Chiampas ordered 58- year- old Leroy Brown to remain in the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services for treatment, according to Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office.
“The defendant has a history of violent sexual attacks upon women and girls, and previously fled the state to avoid being held accountable for his crimes,” Madigan said in a statement.
Once committed to IDHS, offenders are re- evaluated on a regular basis to determine if they continue to meet criteria for commitment.
Sun- Times Wire
2- block stretch of Wabash to close this weekend
A two- block stretch of Wabash Avenue in River North will be closed this weekend for the installation of a tower crane. Wabash will close between Illinois and Kinzie streets at 9 a. m. Friday, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation. The closure is expected to last through Sunday, though a specific time was not given. Sun- Times Wire
Woman wearing nightgown robs North Side bank at gunpoint
A woman wearing a nightgown and carrying a gun held up a bank Thursday morning on the border of the Uptown and Lake View neighborhoods on the North Side.
The takeover robbery happened at 9: 32 a. m. at the Chase Bank branch at 3956 N. Sheridan Rd., FBI spokesman Garrett Croon said.
The suspect was described as a black woman in her 20s or 30s, 5- foot- 4 to 5- foot- 6 and 120- 140 pounds with a small build, accord- ing to the FBI. She was wearing a tan winter coat, floral nightgown, black gloves, blue jeans and white shoes.
She showed a firearm, according to the FBI, and should be considered armed and dangerous. She was not in custody.
A reward up to $ 1,000 is being offered for information leading to her arrest. Anyone with information is asked to call ( 312) 421- 6700.
Jordan Owen
Federal grand jury indicts man in E. Chicago post office explosion
A federal grand jury returned a five- count indictment against a man who allegedly sent a pipe bomb in a package that caused an explosion at a northwest Indiana post office in September.
Eric P. Krieg, of Munster, Indiana, mailed a package that exploded about 6 p. m. on Sept. 6 at the U. S. Post Office branch at 901 E. Chicago Ave. in East Chicago, according to the FBI and the U. S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Indiana.
A postal employee was injured, the FBI said.
From as early as 2012 until August 2017, Krieg used online forums and a blog he maintained to make a series of online post- ings and communications about other northwest Indiana residents, prosecutors said.
After a lawsuit based on statements Krieg made on his blog was filed in Lake County Superior Court in 2013, he filed for bankruptcy, prosecutors said. However, the attorney in the case, identified as “Victim 1,” claimed the suit couldn’t be discharged in bankruptcy. Krieg ultimately agreed to pay the attorney’s client $ 45,000 and post an apology on his blog.
The package that exploded Sept. 6 at the East Chicago post office was addressed to the attorney, prosecutors said. Sun- Times Wire
Police: Man tried to pay South Shore train fare with counterfeit money
An Indiana man was arrested Wednesday night after he tried to pay his South Shore train fare using counterfeit money.
Timothy Ross, 33, boarded a 6: 08 p. m. train at the Hammond South Shore station and presented bogus money to pay for his trip to the South Bend Airport Station, according to the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District police.
Ross had $ 1,070 in counterfeit cash and a handgun on him, police said. He also had detailed written instructions on how to manufacture counterfeit money.
Ross was also wanted by Elkhart County authorities for failure to appear on a criminal recklessness charge, police said.
The South Bend resident was taken to the Lake County Jail, where he was being held pending the filing of new charges.
Jordan Owen