Bike Thieves on Trial!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, July 12th - the trial for the bike thieves as discussed earlier:

Skokie Courthouse - Room 105, 1:30 PM
Map:  http://tinyurl.com/5rbk73x
More details and discussion:

http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/holy-fracking-cow-chicagos...
http://wilmette.patch.com/articles/wilmette-and-winnetka-police-nab...
http://wilmette.patch.com/articles/photo-of-the-day-is-this-your-st...

A bike ride up the North Branch Trail, runs right by Old Orchard Road where the courthouse is located.  

Beware of the usual restriction of what you can carry inside the building, but do wear a helmet and look like a bike rider supporting the prosecution.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on July 22, 2011 at 10:47am
The alleged bike thieves were indicted today on three charges each (of which at least 2 are felonies). If the charges can be proven and sentenced consecutively, each could be sentenced to up to 17 years in prison. There's still no trial date. More details Monday. Here's the Wilmette Patch article.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on July 24, 2011 at 5:23pm
That's a good start.
Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on July 25, 2011 at 2:03am

Monday morning update on Patch:

 

Update: Bike Theft Suspects Indicted

Two Chicago men charged by Wilmette police in spree face arraignment Aug. 8.

By Steve Sadin

5:45am

Two Chicago men charged by Wilmette police with bicycle thefts along the North Shore were indicted on three counts each Friday at Cook County Circuit Court in Skokie.

Kenneth Robertson, 31, and Gilberto Torres, 53, were arrested June 24 on charges of stealing more than 25 high-end bikes. Their apprehension came after several weeks of investigation that involved following the two men on a crime spree through Glencoe, Winnetka and Wilmette.

Both men were charged with one count of theft as a Class 2 felony and two more as Class 3 felonies. A Class 2 felony carries a 3- to 7-year prison sentence while a Class 2 crime can land a convicted felon in jail from 2 to 5 years, according to Cook County State's Attorney spokesman Andy Conklin.

Torres was also indicted for unlawful possession of a weapon, a Class 4 felony. He could receive an additional 1 to 3 years in jail for that crime, Conklin said.

Both men appeared in court with their attorney, Frank Kostoures, to hear the charges. Robertson was free on bail, and Torres remained at the Cook County Jail on a $75,000 bond.

Robertson and Torres are scheduled to be arraigned at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 8 at the Skokie branch of the county court system. At that time, they will enter a plea.

Stay tuned to Patch for more updates on the case.

Related Topics:Andy Conklin, Frank Kostoures, Gilberto Torres, and Kenneth Robertson

 

Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on July 25, 2011 at 3:09am
10 per cent, or $7.5K.  Why cut him loose?  He's in for a weapons charge, beyond the bike thievery.  If you post bail and he skips town, you're the one out the full $75,000.
Permalink Reply by Bob Kastigar on July 25, 2011 at 3:13am

I'm not sure what's happening is clear.
 
The article says they were indicted last Friday  (7/22, their second appearance in court) and that they are to be indicted on August 8th.
 
How many times are they to be indicted?  Why are there two dates for indictment?
 
When will the actual trial take place?

 

I emailed the (new) story-writer to see if we could get some further information.  I'd like to know when the actual trial date is.

 

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on July 25, 2011 at 3:15am

Maybe Torres could hold a fund-raiser for the money.  Donate $100 and you get to kick him smartly in the balls as hard as you can.  If he can do that 750 times he's got his bail.  

 

At that point he can skip town as far as I am concerned.  Perhaps he can set up shop in DC with all the rest of the crooks and we don't have to worry about him plying his trade here any more or having to support him in his cage for the next few years on state-support as he cools his heals.

 

WIN/WIN!

Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on July 25, 2011 at 3:25am
Bob: these two choir boys were indicted this past Friday.  It means that the states attorney said they have a case and will prosecute, while the judge agreed there seemed to be enough evidence for a trial.  August 8 is the arraignment: if one or both plead guilty, the judge sentences them that day, then and there.  If one or both request either a bench (judge) trial or jury trial, the date is set on the court calendar and things go on from there.  I'm betting they request a jury trial, and I wouldn't be surprised if they severed the cases, so that Kenny could blame Gilberto in his trial and Gilberto could blame Kenny, though Gilberto's weapon problem won't go away easily.  Caveat: I'm not a lawyer, anyone on the board know if this assessment is accurate?
Permalink Reply by Bob Kastigar on July 25, 2011 at 3:26am


Thunder Snow said:

Monday morning update on Patch:

 

Update: Bike Theft Suspects Indicted

Two Chicago men charged by Wilmette police in spree face arraignment Aug. 8.

By Steve Sadin

5:45am

The email address for Steve Sadin is scs31150@aol.com if anyone wants to contact him.
Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on July 25, 2011 at 3:58am
I'm not a criminal attorney, so I defer to anyone in that practice area who wants to chime in. As Bob has pointed out, it appears from the reporting that they were indicted more than once. I don't know if that was an error in reporting or whether they were indicted on additional charges this past Friday (initially there were only two felony charges, now there are three). Thunder Snow's assessment of the procedural timeline is accurate. There is not yet a trial date. Though some on this thread have expressed opinions that suggest they already have enough evidence to convict, I am pleased that in circumstances where the government is proposing to deprive defendants of their personal liberty, that they enjoy an absolute right to due process.
Permalink Reply by Bob Kastigar on July 25, 2011 at 4:03am

Thundersnow is right; last Friday was the indictment, Aug 8th is the arraignment. 

 

What I'm trying to determine is when is it worthwhile for a contingent of cyclists to show up for a trial to demonstrate the interest of the community in the issue.

 

There are a lot of court appearances that seem only to lower the interest in the issue of the crimes that were committed.

 

Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on July 25, 2011 at 4:20am
Worst case scenario for trial: if the police didn't correctly execute the search warrant for the cache of stolen bikes reportedly found in a storage locker, all that evidence gets tossed out (4th Amendment, unreasonable search and seizure).  If each of them can convince their separate jury that they just drove their pal to the train station because the other guy said he wanted to pick up his own bike that he left there, he didn't know anything about him stealing: reasonable doubt.  If the original scrutiny by the suburban police was simply for "Driving While Black Or Latino", a jury may take a dim view of the prosecution.  Otherwise this seems like a slam dunk.
Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on July 25, 2011 at 5:31am

Yeah, maybe Kenny's "working" overtime to come up with the cash for Gilberto's bail and their lawyer's fees.  Their lawyer, Frank Kostouros, may not play fair.  He seems to have been censured by the state licensing board in 2005 for unspecified wrongdoing:

 

M.R.20215 - In re: Frank Pete Kostouros. (September 26, 2005)

Disciplinary Commission.

The petition by the Administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission to impose discipline on consent pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 762(b) is allowed, and respondent Frank Pete Kostouros is censured.

Order entered by the Court.

And yeah, I was frankly surprised you seemed interested in Gilberto's bail.  I mean, you can visit him on visiting day at Cook County Jail if you like, why bother springing him?  ;-] 

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