Court Watch: Attorney Files to Get Teen's Murder Charge Dismissed

Cook County

OAK LAWN  -

Dr. Rajat Prakash, 47, who is being charged with criminal sexual abuse after allegedly fondling female patients appeared briefly in court Monday. He is scheduled to be back in court on Aug. 1 for a status hearing.

ORLAND PARK —

Dennis D. Dodson Jr., 35, without a last known address, was , a Class X felony, after being accused of attacking and sexually molesting an 83-year-old woman near 159th Street and Harlem Avenue last September. He had a brief status hearing on Thursday and is set to be back in court on Sept. 5.

ORLAND PARK - Vietnamese-Targeting Inmate Convicted of More Kidnapping and Burglary Charges

A man serving 40 years in prison for locking a person in a bathroom, before fleeing with valuables, was recently found guilty on charges from a similar crime in .

Tuyen Ngo, 35, was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and residential burglary after a trial at the Bridgeview Courthouse, according to a release from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

PALOS - Attorney Asks for Dismissal of Murder Charges Against Teen in Granat Case

The attorney for one of four teens accused of beating a Palos Township couple to death says it's unconstitutional to charge his client with a crime that comes with a mandatory life in prison sentence.

Joel Brodsky filed a motion on Thursday to dismiss the murder charges against 17-year-old Mohammad Salahat. Salahat  as prosecutors as the driver who remained in a car Sept. 11, 2011, outside the home of John and Maria Granat while others allegedly beat and stabbed the two to death in their bedroom.

TINLEY PARK -

Francis John Gilroy Jr., 65, of West Palm Beach, FL, was charged with unlawful possession of weapons by a felon after reportedly being attacked during the . He appeared in court this week for a brief hearing and is scheduled to be back before a judge on Aug. 8. 

TINLEY PARK - Man Accused of Assaulting Outriggers Manager Claims Self Defense

A Mokena man facing aggravated battery and great bodily harm charges after allegedly assaulting a Tinley Park restaurant manager is claiming self defense, according to his attorney.

Dennis Dwyer told Judge Colleen Hyland Tuesday during a Bridgeview courtroom hearing that his client, Donovan Campbell, 42, will be asserting self defense. Dwyer will be introducing a witness, he said, later declining to specify who it may be.

TINLEY PARK - Man Pleads Guilty to Possession

Matthew J. Offord, 29, of the 5400 bock of West 129th Place in Crestwood, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a controlled substance was was sentenced to one year in the Illinois Department of Corrections by Judge Colleen Hyland, with 76 days credit for time served.

Offord was near the intersection of Harlem Avenue and 186th Street in . He was charged with driving with a suspended license and possession of a controlled substance following a fender-bender accident near that intersection. He reportedly have four packets containing less than one gram of heroin.

Will County

NEW LENOX — 

The trial of a New Lenox man charged with punching a Joliet man into a coma during a bar fight ground to a halt when a Mokena Detective said he had shot a photo of the defendant's hand that no one can seem to find.

The police couldn't find it, and attorneys for the New Lenox man, 23-year-old Joseph Messina, moved for a mistrial. On Thursday, the same detective said he now can't remember whether he shot the photo after all.

On the Docket Next Week

TUESDAY

Trial set for men accused of hate crime and robbery

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY
Carnival worker and girlfriend accused of soliciting 16-Year-Old girl for sex

Bremen High teacher from New Lenox cccused of fondling teen girl

Orland Park man 

Former Oak Lawn employee

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

There are plenty of ways to keep up on  news:

• Sign up for our daily email newsletter

• Like us on Facebook for a slightly different take.