Articles Posted in Criminal Defense

Luis Benito, 17, has been charged with four counts of aggravated DUI and reckless homicide and could face up to 14 years each on the two most serious counts against him. Judge Marzell Richardson set his bond at $1 million dollars. Benito had allegedly been drinking at a nightclub, Rancho Santa Fe. Shortly before the…

22-year-old, Doreen Cardenas, and a 22-year-old man she was with were rushed to the hospital after being struck by a car in an early morning hit and run in North Aurora. Cardenas was pronounced dead at Provena-Mercy Hospital at 2:35 a.m. The man remained hospitalized but his condition was not made available. The couple were…

Officer Troy Fields is being credited with the arrest of an allegedly dangerously drunk and unlicensed driver. The officer, who was driving south bound on First Avenue near Cermak Road last Saturday, spotted a car ahead of him “driving all over the road and into oncoming traffic.” Fields flashed his headlights at the oncoming traffic…

Reginald Hearon, 50, could find himself serving up to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to felony DUI and reckless homicide charges stemming from the deadly Kane County crash in 2008. Hearon driving work at the Illinois Youth Center in St. Charles on the day of the crash when his van slammed head-on into…

Kelli and Jessica Uhl were killed in the November 2007 accident cause by former Illinois State Trooper Matt Mitchell. Mitchell, who was responding to another accident, was driving at 126mph through busy traffic on Interstate 64 while sending and receiving emails and talking to his girlfriend on his mobile phone. He crossed the median and…

Alonso Huerta-Perez, 23, of Carpentersville is accused of fleeing a crash after blowing through a stop sign in West Chicago while intoxicated. Huerta-Perez collided with another car, killing the driver. Huerta-Perez allegedly stated that he drank eight or nine beers before the crash. Five other people were in the car when it went through the…

Sandra Vasquez, 26, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after the fatal drunk-driving crash in 2007 that left five Oswego teens dead and three others injured. The prison term means Vasquez, the mother of two young children, will have to spend at least 12 1/2 years behind bars. Initially, Vazquez faced up to 28…

Oswaldo Gonzalez, 36, was charged in May with Reckless Homicide and several different DUI charges after allegedly rear-ending a silver Kia Rio in the 3500 block of West 30th Street. Alicia Pedroza, 58, was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital. Two other people and an infant were also injured. Gonzalez was allegedly driving at high speeds…

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the law punishing underage drinkers by suspending their Illinois driver’s license is constitutional. The court found that the legislature made a reasonable connection between the offense and the consequence, explaining that these offenders may wind up driving while under the influence of alcohol. A trial court in Clinton…