DuPage County Court Watch

Man Accused of Robbing Elmhurst Shell at Gunpoint Says Police Violated His Rights

Here's a look at cases we're following in DuPage County courts.

The Chicago man accused of robbing the Shell gas station at 926 N. York in September wants a judge to throw out evidence in his case because police violated his rights. According to court records, Mario Williams, 24, who has pleaded not guilty to armed and aggravated robbery charges, claims police unlawfully detained him and unlawfully seized evidence by stopping a taxi based on a "hunch" shortly after the holdup. Williams is accused of robbing the Shell station and then running from the scene. Elmhurst police arrested him after they found him in a 303 Taxi cab on North Virginia Lane. Evidence of the robbery was found in the taxi, but Williams' attorney argues that police had no good cause—including no way to identify a robbery suspect or …

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Court Watch: Murder-for-Hire, Sexual Exploitation of Teens, Pipe Bomb Plot

Here's a look at some major DuPage County court cases, including a former Wheaton man charged with hiring a fellow inmate to kill two public officials and two others, and a Naperville man's sexual exploitation trial.

Wheaton: A judge ruled that DuPage prosecutors used an improper tactic to bring a murder-for-hire suspect in for questioning. However, Judge George Bakalis decided the information obtained in the interview, and ultimately the charges filed against Gordon Vanderark, would have been no different if the tactic had not been used, records show. Vanderark is charged with trying to hire a fellow prison inmate to kill a DuPage County Judge and assistant state's attorney tied to a previous felony conviction that landed Vanderark in prison. Prosecutors used a confidential source to learn about Vanderark's plan and set up a "ruse" hearing on an unrelated issue to have Vanderark brought back from the Centralia Correctional Center.  Once in DuPage, …

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DuPage County Court Watch

Courtwatch: Man Convicted of Exposing Himself to 7-year-old in Elmhurst Wants a New Trial

Here's a look at cases we're following in DuPage County courts.

Elmhurst—The Virginia man convicted last month of attempted predatory sexual assault of a child and sexual exploitation wants a new trial, records show. Priyang Parikh awaits sentencing, but has filed a motion claiming he should be granted a new trial because of pre-trial errors by the judge and because jurors were not given the option of public indecency as an available lesser offense for consideration. The jury found Parikh guilty of exposing himself to a young girl at a 2010 wedding in Elmhurst. The girl, and other children, chased Parikh out of the hotel after he took the girl into a side room under the pretense of giving her candy. She opened her eyes to see Parikh exposing himself, according to prosecutors. He faces a minimum of four…

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DuPage County Court Watch

Courtwatch: Chicago Man Indicted in Elmhurst Shell Station Holdup

Also in DuPage Courts: Swindling of the elderly, immunity for witnesses in murder case.

A DuPage County grand jury has indicted a 24-year-old Chicago man on charges he held up a gas station on Sept. 13. Mario Williams remains in DuPage County Jail on $300,000 bail charged with armed robbery and aggravated robbery. Police previously said Williams used a semi-automatic handgun while demanding cash from an employee of the Shell Station in the 900 block of North York Road. Williams was captured after he tried to flee by taking a taxi out of the area. Williams returns to court Oct. 25 when he could be arraigned on the charges. Here are other cases we're following in DuPage County courts: Downers Grove—A 51-year-old man, who last lived in Downers Grove, recently pleaded guilty to swindling money from an elderly resident. Metlow …

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Elmhurst College Football Standout Gets Six Years for Christmas Eve Holdup

Rodney Payton pleaded guilty to robbing an Elmhurst man of his Air Jordans.

Rodney Payton, a former Nazareth Academy and Elmhurst College football player, was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty Aug. 24 to an armed robbery charge, court records show. Police arrested Payton, of Bellwood, in December for his role in a Christmas Eve hold up of a man for his new Air Jordan shoes as part of a ruse set up on Craigslist. He was 22 at the time of the crime. No one else has been charged in the case. Prosecutors slightly amended the charge Payton admitted to by removing the word firearm and replacing it with "bludgeon," records state. Payton's sentence came amid an outpouring of support from family and others, including the Nazareth Academy president and Payton's college football coach, who asked in …

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7:05 pm on Friday, September 14, 2012

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DuPage County Court Watch

Court Watch: Trial Date Set for Elmhurst College Student Charged with Hate Crime

Also, brutal Darien murder case still in the discovery phase after two years.

Here's what we're keeping our eye on in DuPage County courts. Elmhurst—A May 8 trial date has been set for the Elmhurst College student accused of carving racial epithets into a dorm windowsill. Myles Burton was arrested in December after the words were found on campus. Burton, who was held in DuPage County Jail for several weeks before posting bond, has pleaded not guilty to the criminal damage to school property charge. A hate crime allegation was added because of the nature of the graffiti, according to court documents. Darien—Two years after three members of a Darien family were shot to death inside their home, the case of one of the men accused in the murders remains in the evidence discovery phase. Johnny Borizov and his attorneys …

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DuPage County Court Watch

Man Indicted on Charges He Stole Air Jordans at Gunpoint

Darien triple murder and other DuPage County cases also moving forward.

Elmhurst—A grand jury this week indicted a Bellwood man on a charge he robbed an Elmhurst man of his new Air Jordans last month. Rodney Payton was arrested and charged with armed robbery after police linked him to a Christmas Eve holdup of a man trying exchange new Air Jordans through a Craigslist ad. Payton is alleged to have been armed with a gun during the incident, which involved a second suspect, according to authorities. Darien—Judge Daniel Guerin scheduled a Feb. 9 hearing for attorneys in Johnny Borizov's triple-murder case to offer their arguments over medical records his defense team is interested in analyzing ahead of a possible trial. Borizov is accused in the murders of three members of the Kramer family in March 2010. His co-…

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DuPage County Court Watch

DuPage Court Watch: Updates on Cases of Attempted Murder, Sexual Abuse and Child Endangerment

Here are a few of the cases we're keeping our eye on in DuPage County.

Naperville—A man accused in the attempted murder of his mother has declined to participate in a mental fitness evaluation ordered in his case, court records show. Alexander Georg is charged with trying to strangle his mother and then stabbing her during an incident at their home in August. Georg has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder, aggravated battery and aggravated domestic battery. He remains in DuPage County Jail on $1.5 million bail. A judge has set a hearing on the progress of the evaluation attempt for Dec. 5. Wheaton—A 72-year-old Wheaton man pleaded not guilty on Oct. 24 to two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a young girl in 2007, records show. Glenn Camp, last of the 200 block of South Morgan, was recently …

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