Son’s escape costs parents home
A convicted drug dealer’s lucky getaway moments before being taken into federal custody last fall will cost his parents one of several properties they own in Chicago, a judge ruled Tuesday.
U.S. Judge Harry Leinenweber agreed Tuesday morning to forfeit the bond of Ignacio Torres Jr., which was secured by a home his parents own on Elston.
Torres slipped out of Leinenweber’s courtroom last November moments after the judge ordered him taken into custody. He’s been on the run ever since, and his attorney, Beau Brindley, said no one has heard from him.
“Is Mr. Torres here?” Leinenweber asked as Tuesday’s hearing got underway.
“I wish he was, judge,” Brindley said. “He is not.”
Ignacio Torres Sr. and Noemi Lorenzana, Torres’ parents, have already signed a quit-claim deed over to the federal government, Brindley said. The judge’s order lets prosecutors enforce it.
The feds say the couple does not live in the home. In fact, they said in court filings it is one of seven properties Torres’ parents own around Chicago purchased at a combined price of about $1.5 million.
Torres was free on bond at the time of his escape, awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty last June to a cocaine dealing charge.
But then he allegedly threw rocks at, and threatened to kill, a “snitch” who helped the DEA catch him.
Leinenweber revoked Torres’ bond at the urging of prosecutors and ordered Torres locked up. But witnesses said there were no security officers in the courtroom at the time.