Guilty plea for off-duty cop in Dan Ryan deaths
An off-duty Chicago Police officer who crashed into a disabled car on the Dan Ryan Expy. and killed two men has pleaded guilty to DUI.
Joseph Frugoli, 41 at the time of the crash, entered guilty pleas Thursday to two counts of aggravated DUI, said Sally Daly, spokeswoman for Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez. He faces up to 28 years in prison.
He resigned from his position Aug. 30.
After the plea deal was reached on the DUI charges, a bench trial in front of Cook County Judge Charles Burns got under way on charges he left the scene of the accident, Daly said. That trial will continue Monday. If convicted at the trial, Frugoli faces up to 15 years in prison for each victim, Daly said.
Frugoli drove his black Lexus SUV into the back of a Dodge Intrepid that had broken down on southbound I-90/94 near the 18th Street ramp in April 2009, authorities said. The detective was walking away from the crash when he was apprehended.
Andrew Cazares, 23, of Summit, and Fausto Manzera, 21, of Chicago were killed in the crash.
The 18-year veteran cop had previously been involved in two other serious wrecks, authorities said. another was hospitalized after a shooting Wednesday night on the Dan Ryan Expy., police said.
The shooting happened about 11:40 p.m. in the Chatham neighborhood as three men in a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee were getting onto the southbound lanes of the expressway at 87th Street, Illinois State Police said.
The driver, Larry Porter, 25, of the 10000 block of South Parnell, was shot in the head, causing him to lose control and drive off the ramp into a building on Lafayette Avenue, police said. He was dead at the scene. The shots were apparently fired from another vehicle.
A front-seat passenger was taken in critical condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center with a head injury, authorities said. resident who participated in the march. “We really believe the driver should have been taken into custody.”
A half-dozen girls carried a banner with Jaclyn’s photo that read, “Justice for this angel.” Many marchers also simply wanted to show support for the girl’s family, recognizing the tragedy could have claimed one of their own children.
Carly A. Rousso, 18, of the 2500 block of Woodpath Lane in Highland Park, was driving a Lexus coupe east in the 700 block of Central Avenue when the vehicle crossed the westbound lanes and struck Jaclyn, her mother and two younger brothers, police said.
Rousso was cited Monday with driving under the influence of an intoxicating compound, a misdemeanor. She may face additional charges pending further investigation and toxicology tests. Jaclyn’s father, Tomas Santos de Jesus, said his family is “grateful for the outpouring of support from the community after this unbearable tragedy. We have been treated with considerable compassion and respect by everyone including the Highland Park Police Department. . .”