Mattoon woman violates three-year probation in car theft case

Illinois resident Abby Mingus, 32, was re-sentenced to 3 ½ years of imprisonment after violating her three year probation for stealing a vehicle in January 2014, the Journal Gazette and Times-Courier reported on June 15. Her sentence included a provision that required her to attend a treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities program. However, Mingus was charged with retail theft for...

Criminal Defense

June 17th, 2015

Defense attorney Tony Bruno avoids jail time for client

Attorney Tony Bruno recently represented a Champaign resident who was accused of recording a teenage girl without permission, according to a June 17 article in The News-Gazette. The accused pleaded guilty to unauthorized video recording. Although the Assistant State Attorney argued for a jail term of three years, Bruno managed to reduce the sentence to home...

DUI Defense

June 14th, 2015

Judge reduces Champaign man’s sentence for third DUI conviction

Champaign County Judge Richard Klaus decreased the sentence he gave to 32-year-old Champaign resident Robeson Graham-Bailey for his third DUI conviction due to additional evidence that previously was not heard, according to the News-Gazette on May 27. Graham-Bailey was originally sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison, but Klaus knocked three years off of this term. The...

Murder

June 4th, 2015

Man charged with first-degree murder sentenced to 65 years

Thirty-year-old Champaign County resident Micah Hopkins was sentenced to 65 years for a first-degree murder charge after shooting his friend, 26-year-old Allen Redding, in June 2014, according to the News-Gazette on May 15. Court documents showed that an altercation regarding money happened between Hopkins and Redding in the yard of Redding’s cousins, and ultimately resulted in Hopkins shooting Redding. Seven...

Criminal Defense

May 28th, 2015

Tom Bruno eliminates six of seven charges with plea agreement for client

Daniel Beckwitt was facing seven criminal charges in 2013, to which he originally pleaded not guilty. Six of those charges were eventually dropped after attorney Tom Bruno arranged a plea agreement with Assistant State’s Attorney Matt Banach. In the end, Beckwitt pleaded guilty to a single count of computer fraud, a Class 3 felony. As...

Murder

May 19th, 2015

Illinois man sentenced to 107 years for 2013 murder

Twenty-three-year-old Kamron Taylor was sentenced to 107 years by Kankakee County Circuit Judge Kathy Bradshaw-Elliott on May 11 for the shooting death of 21-year-old Nelson Williams, Jr., during a failed robbery back in 2013, according to a report in the Kankakee Daily Journal. Bradshaw-Elliott told Taylor that he was a threat to the community and repeatedly proved to be...

Murder

April 21st, 2015

Champaign jury rejects self-defense plea and convicts man in shooting

A jury in Champaign County deliberated for five hours on April 9 before rejecting 30-year-old local Micah Hopkins’ claim that he shot 26-year-old local Allen Redding repeatedly in self-defense, thereby convicting Hopkins of first-degree murder, according to the News-Gazette. Redding suffered eight gunshot wounds in the yard of his cousin’s home at around 5:30 p.m. on...

Murder

April 13th, 2015

Shooting suspect to stand for his defense

Thirty-year-old Champaign, Illinois resident Micah Hopkins was recently tried before the Champaign County Judge Heidi Ladd for charges of first-degree murder, the News-Gazette reported on April 8. This was the same day that Hopkins was slated to stand for his own defense. Hopkins was accused of shooting and killing Allen Redding, 26, who used to be...

Criminal Defense

April 8th, 2015

Urbana implements new procedure to catch drug dealers

The Urbana Police Division in Illinois has begun sending out patrol officers to make raids on drug tips rather than just its detectives, the Springfield News-Sun reported on April 3. For instance, police officers raided the house of Urbana locals Steven Inskeep, 57, and Sonda Shafer, 48, wherein they found 20 marijuana plants. Additionally, their...

Criminal Defense

March 23rd, 2015

Champaign man pleads guilty to aggravated robbery, receives 15 years

Forty-two-year-old Champaign County resident Terry Leece was sentenced to 15 years in prison on March 9 by Coles County Circuit Judge Teresa Righter after pleading guilty to charges of aggravated robbery and attempted aggravated robbery, the Journal Gazette & Times-Courier reported. Leece, who lives in St. Joseph, robbed a Walgreens and attempted to rob a CVS Pharmacy...

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