Life in prison for 2011 Grant Park sex assault, robbery

A homeless man convicted last month in the 2011 robbery and sexual assault of a Schiller Park grandfather in Grant Park was sentenced to natural life in prison plus seven years today.
Cortez Foster, 47, was convicted Nov. 1 of aggravated criminal sexual assault and robbery in the attack on the 65-year-old man starting just before midnight on March 25, 2011 in the 800 block of South Michigan Avenue near the park’s Logan Monument.
On Thursday, Cook County Criminal Court Judge Dennis Porter sentenced him to natural life in prison on the sexual assault charge, plus another 7 years for the robbery conviction.
The night of the attack, the victim was walking in the park when Foster went up to him and started punching and kicking him, took the victim’s pants off, assaulted him with a tree branch and stole his cell phone.
A passerby saw the victim leaning against a concrete railing and wearing no pants after he had walked north a short distance, and the passerby called police. About 12:15 that morning officers found the victim, who was unable to speak, in the 700 block of South Michigan Avenue.
The victim was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for multiple facial fractures and cuts, and underwent surgery because of the sexual assault.
Police investigators traced the victim’s missing cell phone to a nearby apartment complex and found the man who had it, who told detectives he gave Foster three Viagra pills for the phone. Investigators figured out who Foster was by checking a log book at the apartment complex, and found Foster at the Pacific Garden Mission.
Foster had been on parole after being released from prison after serving part of 20-year-sentence for a 2001 armed robbery conviction. After his arrest, he admitted to police he became angry and attacked the 65-year-old victim at the park. He also had two other felony convictions, including in a 1991 robbery and sexual assault case.

Death of woman found in car trunk ruled a homicide

A Wisconsin woman found dead in the trunk of a car near the Greyhound station in the South Loop suffered trauma to her neck, and her death has been classified a homicide.
Erin Ziemendorf, 30 of West Allis, died of blunt neck trauma caused by an assault.
Police found Ziemendorf's body around 6:25 p.m. Sunday at 630 W. Harrison Street after her boyfriend contacted police in Kenosha and said he had killed his girlfriend.
Officers tracked down the car, based on information provided by the boyfriend, but didn't see anyone in it, the sources said. They opened the trunk and found the woman in the fetal position and in a duffel bag

3 teens held in South Loop pepper spray attacks

Three girls are being held in connection with a pair of South Loop pepper spray attacks Wednesday night that left two women injured.
In the first attack, a 16-year-old girl is accused of spraying a 24-year-old woman with pepper spray while two other girls, 14 and 17, blocked her escape. That happened about 10:30 p.m. in the 1100 block of South State Street.
About 10 minutes later the 17-year-old sprayed a 26-year-old woman in the 1300 block of South State Street. Like in the first attack, the other two girls blocked the 26-year-old's escape
It's not clear what prompted the attacks. The 24-year-old was taken to an area hospital and treated for her wounds and the 26-year-old had her eyes flushed with water near where she was attacked.
Police said the three attackers will likely be charged as juveniles.

Police find woman's body in Chicago River

Chicago Police searching the South Branch of the Chicago River near the South Loop this evening after a woman was spotted jumping into the water found a woman's body.
A Fire Department diver had to avoid dangerous debris while searching for the woman, who was believed to have jumped from the Roosevelt Road Bridge, 300 W. Roosevelt Road, around 2:40 p.m., authorities said. A woman's body was found in the river about 6:45 p.m.
The Fire Department diver searched in an area where the woman was believed to have been last seen.
About 4:20 p.m., the Fire Department turned the search over to police, with the presumption that authorities were now searching for the woman's body rather than making a rescue effort, according to the Fire Department. Police used sonar equipment to look for her body.

33 yearr old man shot dead in the South Loop

Andre Button, 33, of Dolton was shot around 11:25 p.m. Thursday as he sat in a parked car near 15th Place and Indiana Avenue in the South Loop. He tried to drive away and crashed into two parked cars on Prairie Avenue.
Button was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead there at 12:01 a.m.

2 suffer graze wounds near CTA stop in South Loop

Two men suffered graze wounds near the Red Line station in the South Loop late this morning.
One of the men, 57, was standing at a bus stop east of State Street on Roosevelt Road shortly after 11 a.m. when he heard a gunshot and felt something hit his leg. The other man, 30, suffered a graze wound to the back

Body of man pulled from Chicago River in South Loop

The body of a man was pulled from the Chicago River in the South Loop.
Police recovered the body, believed to be that of a man in his 30s or 40s, around 6:50 p.m. Tuesday in the 1200 block of South Lumber Street

DNA, cell phone lead to arrest in South Loop attack

DNA evidence and a cell phone left at the scene of a home invasion and sexual assault in the South Loop in January led to charges against a 19-year-old Rockford man.
Bond was set at $2 million for Deontae Latham on charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault, home invasion and armed robbery with a firearm stemming from the Jan. 9 attack in the 1400 block of South Clark Street.
Prosecutors said Latham approached a 56-year-old woman about 6:50 p.m. as she was sitting in her vehicle in the driveway of her town home. He tapped on the passenger side window and asked for directions. After she rolled down the window, Latham took out a handgun, ordered her to open the door and forced her to get into the back seat, where he raped her.
As the victim was forced into her garage, she activated the home’s alarm from her car key ring, prompting her husband to investigate. But the husband ran back inside on spotting Latham standing in the garage with a gun. At about the same time, the victim was able to run down the street and hide behind a dumpster.
Both the woman and her husband called police.
The victims’ two teenage children were also at home at the time of the assault but were not harmed.
Latham had fled by the time police arrived, but a cell phone found inside the woman’s car was linked to a previous home invasion in Rockford. Police later matched Latham to DNA in connection with the sexual assault.
A week after the assault, Latham was arrested on an unrelated weapons charge, Zahr said. He pleaded guilty in that case and received 18 months probation. He also has convictions for drug possession, domestic battery and aggravated robbery,

Shootings in Chicago Jan.15-16, 2013

2 teens shot in Gage Park

Someone shot two teens this afternoon in the Gage Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side.
 The shooting occurred at 3:12 p.m. in the 5700 block of South Rockwell Street.
A 17-year-old boy was shot in the arm and taken to Holy Cross Hospital, while an 18-year-old man was shot in the buttocks and taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County

 23-year-old man shot in Montclare

A 23-year-old man was shot seven times in the Montclare neighborhood on the city’s Northwest Side about 8 p.m. Tuesday.
He was in an SUV when someone fired from the driver's side of another SUV that had pulled alongside.
The wounded man was driven from the scene, near the intersection of Belmont and Neva avenues, to Our Lady of the Resurrection Hospital

 Man shot near Merchandise Mart loading dock

A man suffered a graze wound to the head near a loading dock at the Merchandise Mart this morning.
The shooting occurred around 6 a.m. near near Orleans and Kinzie streets.
The 47-year-old man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
The man was not robbed and police said the gunman reportedly did not say anything to the victim before firing.
After the shooting, the gunman ran west over the Kinzie Avenue bridge and then ducked under the bridge and fled north.
The man was wearing dark clothing and was described as between 20 and 40 years old

Police release sketch in South Loop assault

Police have released a sketch of a man who they say sexually assaulted a woman at gunpoint in her garage in the South Loop.
The attack happened around 6:40 p.m. Wednesday in the 1400 block of South Clark Street, police said. The woman, 56, was sitting in her car when the man approached, displayed a gun and told her to open the car door.
The man assaulted her, then took her keys and went into her home and robbed her husband.
The attacker is described as black, between the ages of 30 and 33, between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-8 and weighing between 165 and 185 pounds. The man had black hair, brown eyes and a medium complexion. He was wearing a black ski cap with red trim and a dark-colored sweater.
Anyone with information was asked to call Area Central detectives at 312-747-8380.

Shootings in Chicago Jan. 10-11, 2013

Man shot in the South Loop

Another person was shot in the 1200 block of South Jeffersron Street in the South Loop neighborhood before 9 p.m. That person is in stable conditoin at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County

Man shot in Bronzeville

About 1:30 a.m., a 31-year-old man was shot in the 4800 block of South Prairie Avenue. He drove himself to a relatives house in the 5400 block of South Indiana Avenue and was taken from there to Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Woman sexually assaulted outside South Loop home by invisible offender

A 56-year-old woman was sexually assaulted outside her home in the South Loop by a man with a gun.
The attack happened around 6:40 p.m. Wednesday in the 1400 block of South Clark Street. She was approached inside her garage and forced into her car.
Her attacker took her keys and went into her home after the attack and robbed her husband. Police weren’t able to offer a description other than the man was wearing dark clothing.  Two people see the offender yet the Police and or media don't give a description?

Finnaly a description- The attacker is described as a black man, between the ages of 30 and 33, standing between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-8 and weighing between 165 and 185 pounds. The man had black hair, brown eyes and a medium complexion. He was wearing a black ski cap with red trim and a dark-colored sweater.

Man caught with Mac 11 machine pistol after South Loop robbery

It was about midnight when a robber entered the Express Food Mart at 1619 S. Michigan Ave., pointed the loaded Mac 11 at a staffer and said: “Open the register and give all the money you have,’’.
 The staffer complied and gave him proceeds including two $2 bills, and the robber fled on foot
Police caught a robbery suspect with a Mac 11 machine pistol in the South Loop neighborhood late Thursday night.
The 23-year-old man was arrested in the alley between Wabash and Michigan avenues just south of 18th Street just before midnight.
He was also carrying a small amount of marijuana and the gun had an extended clip that could hold more than 30 rounds.
Police say he robbed a convenience store in the 1600 block of South Michigan Avenue a few minutes earlier.
Officers responded to the area and saw a man matching the description of the robber and the man fled. He still had proceeds from the robbery when caught
Austin Randall, 23, of the 9300 block of South Paxton Avenue in the Far South Side’s Pill Hill neighborhood, was charged with armed robbery, possession of cannabis and defacing a firearm

Man, 38, killed when vehicle strikes pole

A 38-year-old man was killed early Sunday morning when the vehicle he was driving crashed in the South Loop neighborhood.
About 3:20 a.m., a black BMW struck a light pole in the 1600 block of South Clark Street.
The driver was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:47 a.m..
The medical examiner's office identified him as Jon Sanders, of the 1800 block of South Federal Street.