MOTHER CHARGED IN ABDUCTION OF 3- MONTH- OLD GIRL; NO BAIL
A woman charged with abducting her 3- month- old daughter during a state supervised visit last week was ordered held without bail Thursday at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.
Mikequera Randolph, 24, was charged earlier in the day with a felony count of aggravated kidnapping in the disappearance of her daughter on May 14 during a home visitation in the Lawndale neighborhood, according to Chicago Police.
When Randolph asked if she could say something about the case in court, Judge Sophia Atcherson advised her to talk with her court- appointed attorney before making any statement.
“All right, thank you, ma’am,” Randolph said.
Randolph, her daughter and the case aide usually met at a McDonald’s for their visits, but because that location was being renovated, the visitation was moved to Randolph’s mother’s apartment, prosecutors said.
A little more than an hour into the two- hour visit, something Randolph’s mother was cooking started to smoke, and Randolph took her daughter to the door of the apartment, prosecutors said. Randolph took the child into the hallway outside the door, then disappeared with the child.
During the nine days the baby girl was missing, the girl lacked access to either medication or medical treatment that she required, prosecutors said. Officers used Facebook to help locate Randolph about 1: 11 p. m. Wednesday in the 600 block of South Francisco, authorities said. As officers talked with Randolph, she suddenly pushed the stroller toward an officer and in the direction of the street. The officer grabbed for the stroller as Randolph ran off, prosecutors said, adding that police used bloodhounds to track Randolph to the 2900 block of West Lexington, where they found her hiding in a garage and took her into custody. Judge Atcherson ordered Randolph, of the East Garfield Park neighborhood, held without bail.
The case aide who was supervising the visit has been suspended while DCFS investigates the girl’s disappearance, a spokeswoman for the agency said. Matthew Hendrickson
2 women robbed in Old Town: police
Two women were robbed Wednesday evening in the Old Town neighborhood on the Near North Side
A 40- year- old woman was walking down the street when two males came up behind her, struck her elbow and took her property at 7: 01 p. m. in the 1300 block of North Wells, according to Chicago Police.
The robbers, described as two males between 17 and 20, were wearing dark clothing, police said. At 3: 25 a. m. Thursday, a 26- year- old woman was robbed at gunpoint walking home in the 1400 block of N. Orleans. Two males walked up to her, showed a handgun and robbed her, police said. Taylor Hartz
Woman, 39, charged with murder
A 39- year- old mother is facing a first- degree murder charge for her alleged role in an Austin neighborhood shooting last month.
Tawayna Gordon’s court- appointed public defender said the mother of three children — ages 22, 19 and 10 — had “very limited resources” and asked for a reasonable bail to be set during a hearing Thursday. Judge Stephanie Miller denied Gordon bail.
About 7: 30 a. m. April 29, Gordon drove two people to an alley near the 4800 block of West Monroe, where the pair chased and shot 23- year- old Jemarion Jackson, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.
Chicago Police said no one else was in custody in connection with the shooting as of Thursday. Gordon’s minivan was found ablaze near her home in Lawndale hours after the shooting, authorities said. Surveillance cameras recorded images of Gordon driving the minivan from the shooting location to Stroger Hospital and then in the direction of her home. She later admitted to being the driver when interviewed by investigators, prosecutors said. Matthew Hendrickson
4- vehicle crash on Lake Shore Drive
A four- vehicle crash was reported Thursday afternoon on Lake Shore Drive near Belmont Avenue on the North Side.
The crash happened about 5: 55 p. m. after a vehicle struck a median in the southbound lanes of the 3100 block of North Lake Shore Drive, according to preliminary information from Chicago Police. Sun- Times Wire