Crystal Lake
Man Who Killed Family in DUI Crash Gets Another DUI
A 61-year-old Mount Prospect man convicted of driving drunk and killing four Crystal Lake family members in 1999 now faces upgraded charges for allegations that he drove drunk this past Sunday, McHenry County prosecutors told the Daily Herald.
Depner wandered into a Lakemoor resident's home on Sunday, Feb. 24 after driving his car into a ditch.
Depner is out on parole after serving 12 years of a 14-year sentence for the DUI-related crash that took the lives of a Crystal Lake woman and her three children in 1999, according to the Northwest Herald.
The Burleson family, of Crystal Lake, was on their way home from a day at Great America when Depner crashed into their mini-van and killed Eva, 34, Daniel, 13, Tiffany, 11 and Dallis, 7. Thomas Burleson, the husband and father, was the sole survivor of the crash, the Herald reports.
McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren said officers were dispatched at 6:17 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, for a well-being check on a person who reportedly drove off the road near 905 W. Rand Road in unincorporated Lakemoor.
Walter J. Depner, who was originally charged with misdemeanors for the Sunday incident, now faces felony charges of aggravated driving under the influence and driving while license revoked, according to the Daily Herald.
Woodstock
Craigslist Prostitution Ad Led to Murder of "John"
A McHenry County jury found Tim Smith, 28, guilty of first-degree murder of a man who responded to a Craig’s List ad offering Smith’s wife for prostitution, the McHenry County State’s Attorney said Thursday.
Smith, of Woodstock, faces a minimum sentence of 45 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections when he is sentenced on April 25. He was convicted of killing Kurt Milliman, in May 2011.
Milliman answered a Craig’s List ad and arrived at Smith’s home where he met Kimberly Smith, the defendant’s wife, according to McHenry County Sheriff’s police.
The two started to have sexual relations, but Kimberly Smith abruptly stopped and an argument ensued, according to a release from the state’s attorney’s office. Tim Smith then came out of a room where he had been hiding and shot Milliman in the back.
Inverness
Fire Causes $500,000 in Damage to Home
An Inverness home has a half a million dollars in damage after a basement fire occurred late afternoon Thursday.
The Palatine Rural Fire Protection District responded to the call from residents who live on Windsor Lane in Inverness, which came in at 4:51 p.m., according to a press release from the Palatine Rural Fire Protection District.
The residents of the two-story single family home came back to find the house filling with smoke from the basement. When emergency crews arrived there was no visible evidence of fire from the outside.
Charges Mount in Burglary Case
The case of two Deerfield teenagers accused of invading a Highland Park home in August and appeared on the verge of settling earlier this month became more complex today in Lake County Criminal Court in Waukegan.
Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney Steve Sheller told Judge Daniel Shanes he was adding a claim of unlawful possession of marijuana, a Class 4 Felony, to the existing 10 counts of the indictment against Joshua Norris and Joseph Mahoney, both 18, of Deerfield.
Earlier: Judge Suggests Probation Possible in Teen Burglary Case
Skokie
Cops: Bad Drug Deal Results in Armed Robbery
Police responded to an aggravated robbery in the 9500 block of Lavergne Avenue on Feb. 24 at 10:45 p.m.
According to police, two individuals were meeting up with someone known to them to purchase marijuana. When they arrived at the dealer's residence, however, the offender held the duo up at gunpoint, stealing one of victim's wallet, which contained cash and several credit cards.
The suspect was described as a black male, about 6-feet-tall, 170-pounds, 19 to 24-years-of-age, wearing jeans, a black hooded sweatshirt, black jacket and a scarf that covered his face, police said.