How are the courts handling gun cases in Chicago? Here are a few recent cases that we found interesting.
Prosecutors accuse one man of having a handgun in Edgewater while being on probation for beating a robbery victim with a two-by-four. Another is on parole for an earlier gun case.
Two-by-four
Chicago police tried to stop 19-year-old Nathan Dougherty after they allegedly saw him walking through an Edgewater alley, peering into residential gangways with two other men around 9 p.m. on Oct. 22.
Officers later said in a report that Dougherty is “known to carry a firearm and commit robberies.” As they approached him, Dougherty grabbed his waistband and ran, police said. An officer reportedly heard the sound of metal hitting concrete as he chased Dougherty near the 5400 block of North Kenmore.
Once Doughtery was in custody, officers walked back along the chase route and found a loaded handgun near the location where a cop heard that sound.
Prosecutors charged Dougherty with felony unlawful use of a weapon. Judge Charles Beach ordered him held without bail.
Dougherty, who police say admits to being a member of the Gangster Disciples street gang, received a sentence of 24-months probation in July after he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery for his role in a violent robbery on the very same block where cops arrested him on Oct. 22.
On July 14, 2018, a 20-year-old man told police that Doughtery and another man approached him on the 5400 block of North Kenmore around 3:30 p.m. Dougherty told the man, “Nice book bag. I need that,” and then struck the man repeatedly in the head with a two-by-four piece of lumber, police said.
Doughtery then punched the man repeatedly and choked him before prying away the victim’s book bag and running away. The victim suffered a swollen head and a concussion, according to police. Dougherty’s accomplice, who was never found, allegedly brandished a firearm during the robbery.
Prosecutors eventually agreed to drop a host of felony charges in a plea deal with Dougherty, including two counts of Class X felony robbery. In exchange for pleading guilty to one count of aggravated battery, Dougherty was given a sentence of 24-months probation, 15 days of work on the county’s SWAP program, and 357 days time served while awaiting trial.
Near North incident
You may remember our Oct. 30 report about a Near North woman who called police because a man fired a shot through her door after she kicked him out of her apartment on the 700 block of North Dearborn.
The woman called police again early on Nov. 2 after she and her brother saw the alleged offender in the first block of West Huron.
Officers arrived and arrested 35-year-old Christopher Stanley after confirming that the victim identified him by name in her police report, according to court records. During a search, police allegedly found a handgun in Stanley’s possession.
Prosecutors charged Stanley with being a felon in possession of a firearm but not with the alleged shooting. Judge John Lyke set bail at $5,000 and Stanley went free by posting a $500 deposit bond.
In May 2002, prosecutors dropped four counts of attempted murder and four other felonies in a plea deal with Stanley. In exchange for pleading guilty to aggravated discharge of a firearm, Stanley received a sentence of eight years, court records show.
Gun charge while on parole for a gun charge
A man who escaped an armed habitual criminal charge in a plea deal with prosecutors two years ago is now charged with being an armed habitual criminal again after police say they found him with a gun in Old Town.
Chervon Jackson, 31, was paroled in January after serving half of a four-year sentence that he received for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon in 2017.
Then, on Nov. 3, police pulled over a car on the 1200 block of North Sedgwick because its plates were expired. Officers asked all of the vehicle’s occupants to step out of the car after the driver allegedly admitted that a drink container in the center console contained Hennessey cognac.
Seated in the passenger seat, Jackson made “furtive movements” and did not immediately step out of the car, police said. Once he was outside, police allegedly found a .45-caliber in his waistband.
Prosecutors charged him with Class X felony armed habitual criminal, felony unlawful use of a weapon, and misdemeanor obstruction of identification. In addition to the 2017 gun case, police say Jackson was also convicted of unlawful use of a weapon and burglary in 2004.
Judge Charles Beach ordered Jackson held without bail and the Illinois Department of Corrections issued a warrant for a parole violation, according to court records.
Jackson was arrested in October for possessing narcotics with intent to distribute. Prosecutors dropped those charges four days before police allegedly found him with the gun in Old Town.