Ex-ISU student acquitted of rape charges

24-year-old former Illinois State University student William Wells was acquitted of sexual assault charges on Friday, August 12 in McLean County Circuit Court in Illinois. After a deliberation of about four hours, the jury returned with a not guilty verdict in the case of Wells, who was accused of raping a woman in February at his...

Murder

July 8th, 2016

Murderer of Danville woman sentenced to 17 years

Forty-five-year-old Danville resident George Harold Chapman faced first-degree murder charges in the death of 43-year-old Danville resident Angelica Vasquez. Around 7:45 a.m. on Sept. 27, 2011, Vasquez was found burned and half-clothed on the property of an abandoned farmhouse at 1315 N. Rising Road, just north of Bradley Avenue near Champaign. In June, Vermillion County Circuit Judge Tom O’Shaughnessy sentenced...

Murder

June 28th, 2016

Witness denies claims that she implicated defendant in murder trial

Twenty-two-year-old Champaign resident Dashiona Fonville was arrested so that a jury could hear her testimony in a murder trial. According to The News-Gazette, Fonville claimed at least 120 times on Wednesday, June 22 that she could not remember much of her former testimony concerning the murder. Fonville originally claimed 22-year-old Champaign resident Brandon Collier was involved in the fatal shooting of 30-year-old...

Murder

June 6th, 2016

Danville man gets 33 years in prison for second-degree murder

Thirty-eight-year-old Danville, Illinois resident Jason Roberts was sentenced to 33 years in prison on Tuesday, May 31. His crimes include striking Dylan Scales, the boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend Michelle Crawley, with a baseball bat, and fatally hitting Robert Collins with his vehicle, in October 2015. Roberts was supposed to stand trial on first-degree murder and aggravated driving...

Criminal Defense

June 1st, 2016

Former police officer pleads guilty to aggravated criminal sexual abuse

32-year-old Jerad Gale, a former police officer for both the Champaign City Police Department and the Monticello Police Department in Illinois, pleaded guilty on Friday, May 27 to two felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in two separate cases involving two women in Champaign City Court. Gale was given a jail sentence of six months, 48 months...

Criminal Defense

May 27th, 2016

Illinois lawmakers draft bill to protect rights of juveniles

Illinois lawmakers are considering the creation of a bill that would require the presence of an attorney when police officers interrogate juveniles who are younger than 15 years of age in murder or sex offense investigations in an attempt to lower the rate of false confessions. The bill would mandate that when police question anyone younger than...

Criminal Defense

May 15th, 2016

Champaign police officer waives right to jury trial in sexual assault case

Thirty-one-year-old Champaign, Illinois police officer Jerad Gale, who is charged with sexual assault involving three women in two counties, waived his right to a jury trial in one of the cases, which was set to start the first week of May. According to the Champaign News-Gazette, Gale made the request on Friday, April 29. He...

Sex Crimes Defense

January 14th, 2016

Illinois teacher charged with sexual abuse asks for bail reduction

Twenty-nine-year-old Mokena, Illinois resident and former Herscher High School Social Studies teacher and coach David Murphy appeared in Kendall County Court on Thursday, January 7 to ask for reduction of his $250,000 bond. Murphy has been charged with nine felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and aggravated battery for allegedly assaulting six students –...

Criminal Defense

October 5th, 2015

Tennessee Titans wide receiver Justin Hunter not guilty of battery & assault

Twenty-four-year-old wide receiver for the NFL’s Tennessee Titans, Justin Scott Hunter, was recently found not guilty of assault and battery charges filed against him in connection with a brawl that occurred on July 4, 2015 in his hometown of Virginia Beach. According to a report from ESPN, prosecutors for the case argued that the brawl...

Criminal Defense

September 9th, 2015

Police turn to social media, video footage to find Illinois cop killers

Police authorities in Fox Lake, Illinois are currently on the lookout for three suspects in the fatal shooting of 30-year-old Police Lieutenant Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, announcing last Wednesday, September 2 that they are brushing through social media tips to look for the men suspected to be involved in the killing. Police are unsure if the...

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