Guilty verdict in Bucktown bat-beating trial

A Cook County jury convicted Heriberto Viramontes today in connection with a baseball bat beating in which a Northern Ireland exchange student suffered severe head injuries and her friend was hurt as well.
The jury deliberated about 3 ½ hours before convicting Viramontes on all 10 counts of attempted first-degree murder, armed robbery and aggravated battery in the April 23, 2010, beatings of Natasha McShane and Stacy Jurich.
About two hours into their deliberations, jurors had asked for transcripts of the recordings of Heriberto Viramontes’ calls from Cook County Jail following his arrest, as well as a photo of his neck tattoo.
Prosecutors said the tattoo was visible in video from a gas station where Viramontes allegedly used one of the victims' credit cards to pump gas for motorists in exchange for cash.
During closing arguments earlier today, Assistant State’s Attorney John Maher called Viramontes “every parent’s nightmare” and said "he took everything" from the victims.
“He took Natasha McShane’s future ….He burdened them (the McShane family) with the life task of caring for their daughter. He took serenity and sleep from Stacy Jurich along with her peripheral vision and part of her scalp.”
At one point Maher walked about the courtroom with the bat that prosecutors believe was used in the beating, telling jurors, “Behold Heriberto Viramontes, every parent’s nightmare.”
Maher called damning the audio recordings in which Viramontes admitted on calls from Cook County Jail that he attacked the two women.
"They bury that guy right there " he said, his voice rising. "The trial ended the moment those were published. "
Viramontes’ attorney, Chandra Smith, said the attack was a tragedy but her client was innocent.
"We don't know who did this, but we know it was not Mr. Viramontes,” she told jurors.
Smith said Viramontes’ co-defendant, Marcy Cruz, who testified against him, cannot be trusted.
She cautioned jurors about the jail recordings, saying only  a portion of the calls were played and that they were taken out of context. But if jurors believed the prosecution’s version of the recordings, she said the calls show he did not have the intent to kill that is needed to prove attempted first-degree murder.
The attack took place in the early hours of April 23, 2010, in the 1800 block of North Damen Avenue as the McShane and Jurich walked home from celebrating an internship McShane had just landed.
Jurich, who was in the courtroom for the closing arguments, was able to return to work but testified during the trial that she still has severe headaches and reduced vision.

Shootings in Chicago October 18, 19 2013

15-year-old girl shot in Fuller Park

A 15-year-old girl was shot in Fuller Park
The girl was shot about 11:10 p.m. near 43rd Street and Princeton Avenue while she was in a truck with four other people, including her cousin. 
The truck slowed to see someone the driver knew but the group fled in the truck when they heard gunfire. Police stopped the SUV in the Canaryville neighborhood, in the 4300 block of South Parnell Avenue, and found the girl.
She was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital in stable condition

Rapper shot in Bucktown

At about 11:45 p.m. a man was shot six times outside Los Recuerdos club in the Bucktown neighborhood, in the 2300 block of West Fullerton Avenue. 
Police identified the man as a rapper named 'Slamma' whose image appeared on a poster directly behind where he had been shot. He was taken in critical condition to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

25-year-old man shot in Chatham

A 25-year-old man suffered a graze wound in the 900 block of East 82nd Street. He was outside about 10:40 p.m. when someone approached on a bicycle and shot him. He was taken to Advocate Trinity Hospital with a chest wound and is in good condition.

Shootings in Chicago September 21, 22, 2013

16-year-old girl shot in Gresham

A  16-year-old girl was wounded when gunman fired into a South Side park.
The girl was standing with other people inside a park in the 1200 block of West 92nd Street when two gunmen came out of an alley and opened fire . She was struck in the arm and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where her condition was stabilized.

22-year-old man shot in Englewood

At about about 5:20 p.m. in the South Side's Englewood neighborhood.
In the 6900 block of South Racine Avenue, someone on a bicycle shot a 22-year-old man as he was sitting on a porch. The man was struck in the calf and taken to Holy Cross Hospital, where he was listed in good condition.

19-year-old man shot in Englewood

In the 1200 block of West 69th Street, a 19-year-old man was shot in his right hand and left hip.

40-year-old man shot in Humboldt Park

About midnight, someone fired two shots in the 1200 block of North Spaulding Avenue, striking a 40-year-old man in the leg, police said. The man was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, where his condition was stabilized.

17-year-old boy shot in Austin

At about 1:57 a.m., a 17-year-old boy was shot on the 100 block of North Mason Avenue.
The boy was shot in the left foot and was taken to Oak Park Hospital where his condition had stabilized.

 28-year-old man shot in Bucktown

At about 2:15 a.m., a 28-year-old man was in a vehicle traveling westbound on the 2100 block of West Lyndale Street when he was shot.
The man was in the vehicle when a male approached from an alley and fire shots The man was shot in the ankle and taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital where his condition had stabilized.

26-year-old man shot in Englewood

At  about 3 a.m. two males were shot on the 6800 block of South Bell Avenue as they were sitting on a porch.
A 26-year-old man was shot in both legs and another male sustained a graze wound to his left leg, Sullivan said. Both were to Holy Cross Hospital where their conditions had stabilized

 

 

Plea deal reveals new details of Bucktown beating

Three years after an Irish exchange student and her friend were beaten unconscious and robbed under a Bucktown viaduct, the woman who acted as the getaway driver has agreed to testify against the bat-wielding attacker as part of a plea deal.
In exchange for her cooperation, Marcy Cruz, 28, faces a 22-year prison sentence and will avoid being charged with first-degree murder if the most severely injured victim dies. Cruz, who pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of attempted murder, agreed to testify against co-defendant Heriberto Viramontes, 33, at his scheduled trial on Sept. 9.
Natasha McShane, an exchange student working toward a career in urban planning, was beaten so badly that she can no longer speak or walk. She is now living with her family in Northern Ireland. Her friend, Stacy Jurich, also suffered serious injuries but recovered and was able to return to work.
Court documents filed as part of Cruz’s plea deal provide the most detailed public account yet of what happened in April 2010 when McShane and Jurich were attacked while walking home in the 1800 block of North Damen Avenue after a night out celebrating McShane’s summer internship.
The night of the attack, Cruz left her two young children with her boyfriend and went out to a nightclub with Viramontes. The two ended up having sex and smoking marijuana in Cruz’s van, according to a statement signed by Cruz.
As they drove towards Bucktown, Viramontes began talking about robbing people, according to Cruz’s account.
“Look at all these rich white bitches,” Cruz’s statement quoted Viramontes as saying not long before she parked near Milwaukee Avenue.
According to her account, Viramontes told Cruz he didn’t want her to be a part of this – a reference she understood to the robbery. He then grabbed her boyfriend’s baseball bat and left.
Viramontes returned about five minutes later with two purses, threw the bat into the van and said, “Drive, drive,” according to Cruz’s statement. Cruz knew “something bad had happened” by the look on Viramontes’ face.
A few blocks away, the two went through the purses – Viramontes kept the credit cards and Cruz kept some makeup and a bottle of Dior perfume.
After picking up Viramontes’s girlfriend, Cruz told authorities, the two of them waited outside while Viramontes went in an apartment building on the West Side and smoked crack.

Bucktown sexual assault commited by armed home invader

An armed stranger burst into a Bucktown home Sunday and sexually assaulted a female resident.
Following the assault, the attacker drove the victim from the home in her own vehicle.
The driver dropped the victim off about 1:15 p.m. near the intersection of North Western Avenue and West Hirsch Street in the neighboring Wicker Park neighborhood.
The attacker continued driving the victim's vehicle with her phone still inside.
Authorities were able to track the alleged assailant using the victim's phone, and police took him into custody about 2:30 p.m. at the intersection of West Roosevelt Road and South Western Avenue in the Douglas Park neighborhood.
No charges have been filed, but the alleged attacker remains in custody.
16-year-old Marcos Cervantes is accused of breaking into a Bucktown home, sexually assaulting a woman at gunpoint, then forcing her into her own car and driving off,
Cervantes has been charged as an adult with home invasion by armed force, aggravated criminal sexual assault with a weapon, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated vehicular hijacking

Woman who used stun gun to steal $40K ring and fled in "Smart Car" arrested

An Arizona woman who fired a stun gun about 15 times at a woman on a Bucktown street in October so she and the victim’s daughter could steal a $40,000 engagement ring has been arrested and charged.
Linda Falk, 55, of the 19500 block of North Bright Angel Lane in Surprise, AZ, was arrested Friday night at a motel in Bannockburn and has been charged with armed robbery using a Taser or stun gun.
The victim’s daughter, Julie P. Franck, was arrested Nov. 16 and charged with armed robbery in connection with the Oct. 9 attack outside her mother's home in the 1700 block of North Marshfield Avenue. Franck, 36, was wearing a ski mask when her mother, age 55, was robbed.
A witness was able to pull off Franck's ski mask before Franck and the other suspect drove off in a Smart Car after the robbery.
Franck and the other suspect are accused of stealing credit and debit cards from Franck's mother, in addition to her 3.5-carat diamond ring and cash, according to court documents.
Franck's mother was treated for her injuries at Resurrection St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital and released

Masked woman robbed her mom of $40K engagement ring

Chicago woman pulled on a ski mask before her accomplice fired a stun gun about 15 times at a 55-year-old woman on a Bucktown street last month, allowing the pair to allegedly steal the woman's $40,000 engagement ring and $200 in cash.
The woman who wore the ski mask had good reason to conceal her identity -- the victim was her mother.
Julie P. Franck was arrested Friday and charged with armed robbery in connection with the Oct. 9 attack outside her mother's home in the 1700 block of North Marshfield Avenue.
Cook County Judge Edward Harmening ordered Franck, who is pregnant, held in lieu of $300,000 bail. Prosecutors did not say whether the second suspect had been arrested.
A witness was able to pull off Franck's ski mask before Franck and the other suspect drove off in a Smart Car after the robbery.
Franck and the other suspect are accused of stealing credit and debit cards from Franck's mother, in addition to her 3.5-carat diamond ring and cash, according to court documents.
Franck's mother was treated for her injuries at Resurrection St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital and released,

Man dies week after being hit by car while skateboarding

See origial story here- Skateboarder critically hurt in Bucktown hit-and-run Reginald Destin killed by a DUI driver

Skateboarder critically hurt in Bucktown hit-and-run

A 42-year-old man was seriously injured when he was hit by a car while riding a skateboard in the Bucktown neighborhood on the North Side this morning.
The driver left the scene but Shakespeare district tactical officers caught up with him and he was being questioned by detectives.
The accident occurred about 2 a.m. as the man was riding a skateboard in the bike lane. He was hit by a car traveling south in the 1700 block of North Milwaukee Avenue.
The man was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.
A 30-year-old man faces aggravated DUI and other charges tonight after a 42-year-old man was struck and critically injured while riding a skateboard in a bike lane on a Bucktown street this morning.
Luis P. Pena, of the 2700 block of West 24th Place fled the scene of the crash on the 1700 block of North Milwaukee Avenue about 2 a.m. but was pulled over soon afterward nearby at North and Oakley avenues
 Pena has been charged with aggravated DUI and leaving the scene of an accident involving injury, both felonies, and misdemeanor counts of DUI, reckless driving, not having a driver's license and operating without insurance,

Two nabbed, third sought in Bucktown mugging

Police are hoping the arrest of two men who punched a woman and grabbed her purse in Bucktown this morning will “clear up” a rash of similar muggings that have been plaguing that Northwest Side community recently.
 A man exited a car and slugged the victim in the side of her face – knocking her down -- before snatching her purse and fleeing in the vehicle with two other men.
 The woman, who appeared to be in her 20s, declined to be taken to a hospital after the daylight attack, which happened at North Avenue and Leavitt Street about 10:15 a.m. and left her with a swollen face.
 Two people saw the attack and gave police a description of the mugger and the car, which was spotted not too far away when it “passed right by’’ Wood District police officers who began to follow it. At some point they stopped and all three bailed on foot, but officers were able to apprehend two of them and place them under arrest.
UPDATE:

Authorities charged 17-year-old Travion Lockett, of the 2200 block of West Maypole, for hitting the victim in the face and asssiting a 16-year-old boy with the robbery

Man faces charges in connection with Bucktown rape

A Chicago man who raped a woman in her Bucktown apartment and dragged her back in after she tried to escape is in custody and will face charges related to the attack.
The woman’s neighbors, in a building on the 2300 block of West St. Paul Avenue, called police about 4:15 a.m. to report the attack.
Police said the first responding officers detained a “disheveled”-looking man in the lobby who was on his way out as police arrived.
The 26-year-old woman identified 25-year-old Michael Giffin as her attacker.
Giffin, of the 1700 block of South Carpenter Street, was charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault and unlawful restraint.