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| Jordan Hill (inset) and the “weapons of war” that a CPD spokesperson said he was arrested with on Friday. Hill can get out of jail by posting a $1,000 bond, according to the police department. | CPD |
A new twist will be added today to the ongoing back-and-forth between police, politicians, and the courts over the relatively low bails being given to accused gun offenders in Chicago.
The Chicago Police Department this morning will announce the creation of a public website where it will share felony gun arrest and bail information, according to a media release issued Sunday.
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| CPD chief spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi tweets a recent bail decision. |
Police said the new “Gun Offenders Dashboard” will be updated every Wednesday with information about adults who have been charged with felony weapons-related charges as well as the bond types and amounts given to them by Cook County judges. CPD will gather the portal’s data from its own records as well as from the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
Accused gun offenders are routinely released from custody on recognizance bonds that require no cash deposit or low cash bonds that sometimes require only a few hundred dollars to go free.
Yet, the same courts regularly set much higher bail for people accused of simple property crimes like spray painting “The Bean” sculpture in Millennium Park ($10,000) and stealing booze from a River North hotel ($15,000).
CWBChicago has been reporting on Cook County’s firearms bail practices for over a year. Here is a sampling of some recent court decisions:
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| Ronald Allen | CPD |
• Ronald Allen, 19, was released on a recognizance bond after being charged with two felony firearms charges and misdemeanor reckless conduct on July 19th. Police said they saw Allen walking with a firearm in his waistband on the 4800 block of North Winthrop. Allen ran through Hickory Playlot where parents and kids were playing, then dropped or threw the handgun as he vaulted a fence, according to a police report. Officers said they found him hiding in the men’s room of an apartment complex’s fitness center.
• Police responding to a call of shots fired in the 7300 block of North Damen on July 19th stopped a car that pulled from a parking space and allegedly made an illegal turn. When the vehicle occupants were asked to step out, 21-year-old Isaac Okeyere emerged with a blue nylon bag strapped around his neck, officers said. The bag contained a 9-millimeter handgun loaded with hollow point rounds, according to a CPD report. Police said Okeyere blurted out, “OK. So I got caught with a gun. The sergeant told me it’s a misdemeanor because it’s my first one.” In fact, he was charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon. Judge Sandra Ortiz released him on a recognizance bond.
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| Angel Mireles | CPD |
• Angel Mireles, 23, of Hammond, Indiana, was arrested after a police sergeant saw him running behind a vehicle in the 2200 block of North Milwaukee with a pistol in his hand on July 26th, according to a CPD arrest report. Mireles, who has concealed carry license in his home state, but not in Illinois, is charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon and misdemeanor reckless conduct. Judge Charles Beach set bail at $10,000, meaning that Mireles needed to post a 10% bond of $1,000 to go free. Update November 11, 2021: Mirales received a sentence of two year’s probation after he pleaded guilty to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon before Judge Shelly Sutker-Dermer.
• Austin Randall, 29, was charged with Class X armed habitual criminal, misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon, and misdemeanor battery after being identified as the person who pointed a gun at a 25-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl inside a Lincoln Square hotel room on July 27th, police said. Randall has been ordered held without bail Judge Beach. (Update March 3, 2021: Randall pleaded guilty to Class X armed habitual criminal and received a six-year prison sentence from Judge Shelley Sutker-Dermer.)
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| Naomi Turner. | CPD |
State records show Randall was paroled on March 1st after serving half of a six-year sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm and methamphetamine possession. He was previously sentenced to three concurrent five-year terms in 2012 for being a felon in possession of a firearm; unlawful use of a weapon; and possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number.
But just because someone is ordered held without bail does not mean that another judge won’t later set them free.
Naomi Turner, 39, was ordered held without bail after prosecutors charged her with shooting a 30-year-old woman on a sidewalk in the 5000 block of North Winthrop last April. On July 25th, Judge Carol Howard nixed the no-bail order and set Turner free on a recognizance bond with electronic monitoring.
