McHenry County Blog

The following press release has arrived from the State’s Attorney’s Office:

WOODSTOCK MAN FOUND GUILTY OF ARMED VIOLENCE FOR DOUBLE STABBING IN UNINCORPORATED CRYSTAL LAKE

Louis A. Bianchi, McHenry County State’s Attorney, reports that on March 4, 2010, Defendant Keith Bounds, age twenty-nine of Woodstock, Illinois, was found guilty of two counts of Armed Violence, two counts of Aggravated Battery, and one count of Mob Action by the Honorable Judge Sharon L. Prather following a three day bench trial.

The evidence presented at trial showed that the defendant initiated a physical confrontation with two Cary men after a previous argument that had occurred inside of the Suds R’ Us tavern in unincorporated Crystal Lake.

The evidence also showed that the defendant pushed one of the men outside of the bar near closing time, and shortly thereafter, stabbed him twice.  When the second man came to the aid of the first man, the defendant then stabbed him twice.  Judge Prather found that the defendant’s claim of self-defense was inconsistent with the facts, and that the defendant was the initial aggressor.

The sentencing range for Armed Violence is between ten to thirty years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorneys Ryan Blackney and Jeff Bora.

The defendant will be sentenced on May 5, 2010.

The following press release was received from the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.

There’s an interesting twist to this case. The man was in prison for bank robbery and went to his niece, now in her 20’s, after getting out to ask for forgiveness.

FORMER WOODSTOCK MAN FOUND GUILTY OF
AGGRAVATED CRIMINAL SEXUAL ABUSE OF HIS NIECE

Louis A. Bianchi, McHenry County State’s Attorney, is pleased to announce that Defendant Christopher Huinker was found guilty of three counts of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse by the Honorable Judge Sharon L. Prather following a three day bench trial.

Between October 1995 and December 1998, Huinker, a former Woodstock resident, knowingly committed several acts of sexual conduct with his niece who was under thirteen years of age.

Defendant Huinker, following his incarceration for a 1998 bank robbery in Belvidere, IL, returned to McHenry, spoke with the victim privately, and asked her to forgive him for sexually abusing her.

The apology prompted the victim to disclose the abuse to her counselor.  An investigation and charges followed.

The case was prosecuted for the State by Assistant State’s Attorneys Ryan Blackney and Jeff Bora.  The defendant will be sentenced on March 26 at 1:30 p.m.

The following press release has been received from the office of McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi:

STATE’S ATTORNEY’S OFFICE ANNOUNCES
THE FORMATION OF
A SPECIAL PROSECUTION GANG UNIT

McHenry County State’s Attorney Louis A. Bianchi announces the implementation of a Gang Prosecutions Unit effective August 24, 2009, which reflects the office’s commitment to deter gang activity through tough prosecution efforts.

Assistant State’s Attorney Donna Kelly is assigned to Special Prosecutions and will lead the Gang Prosecutions Unit.

Kelly began her career as an Assistant Public Defender assigned to the Felony and Juvenile Divisions in Kane County.

She then served as an Assistant Appellate Defender in the Office of the State Appellate Defender, Third District, where she argued dozens of cases before the Appellate Court, and two cases before the Illinois Supreme Court.

As a member of the Capital Litigation Trial Bar, Kelly is certified by the Illinois Supreme Court to prosecute death penalty cases as lead counsel.

In 2006, Kelly prosecuted Gregorio Pena and Antonio Figueroa, two members of the Latin King Street Gang, for their involvement in a violent beating of a former gang member outside of a tavern in Harvard.

Both men were found guilty and sentenced to the penitentiary.

In 2008, Kelly and the Chief of the Criminal Division, Nichole Owens, prosecuted Justin Knapp, a Nortenos 14 Street Gang member, for the gang-related stabbing of a young man affiliated with the Latin Kings street gang in a Woodstock parking lot.

Knapp was found guilty of attempted first degree murder and sentenced to 16 years in the penitentiary.

Assistant State’s Attorney Jeff Bora will also be assigned to the Gang Prosecutions Unit.

He has been employed as a prosecutor with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office since 2007 where he has tried a total of 23 trials, including the offenses of felony criminal sexual abuse, unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, assault and battery, DUI, and resisting a peace officer.

Bora is currently assigned to the Felony Review Division where he works closely with law enforcement on felony criminal investigations.

He is also assigned to the State’s Attorney’s Office White Collar Crime Division.

Assistant State’s Attorneys Kelly and Bora will train Assistant State’s Attorneys on

• qualifying law enforcement officers as gang experts;
• transferring juveniles affiliated with gangs to adult court;
• imposing conditions of bond at arraignment (such as prohibitions on contact with other gang members and wearing of gang colors); and
• presenting gang affiliations as aggravating factors at sentencing hearings.

Kelly and Bora will also

• provide training to law enforcement on investigating gang members;
• communicate monthly with a gang representative from each jurisdiction; and
• develop a gang database which will include photographs of gang members, gang tattoos, and will also document gang hang outs as well as gang contacts.

Kelly and Bora will handle gang-related crimes and/or review and monitor their dispositions and will ensure that the prosecutor who is assigned the case is familiar with the gang affiliation and history of each defendant.

Kelly and Bora will also educate the community about gangs within McHenry County, and will visit schools to educate and dissuade students from becoming involved with gangs.

The formation of the Gang Prosecutions Unit will facilitate an aggressive stance against gang crime in McHenry County. The unit will take a hard-line approach against active gang members by coordinating efforts with law enforcement and aggressively prosecuting gang crime.