It’s hard to know where to begin with this one.
There’s the fact that these guys have repeatedly been arrested for burglarizing apartment buildings. There’s the fact that prosecutors dropped their most recent burglary case. Did we mention that one of them shot the other one three times this autumn?
Oh, yeah. They’re cousins.
Say hello to Derrick Stokes and Patrick Carter. Again.
Police arrested them on September 29 as they allegedly tried to break into an Edgewater apartment building for the second time in two months. During a bond court hearing the next day, prosecutors said surveillance video showed Carter manipulating an inner door while Stokes blocked the view of passersby.
Stokes, 39, Carter, 43, and a third man entered the building, went to the mailroom, collected boxes, and walked out the back door, according to the state’s allegations.
But prosecutors subsequently dropped the charges.
On October 30, Carter shot Stokes three times in the foot on the 1000 block of West Bryn Mawr, prosecutors said. But Stokes allegedly refused to cooperate with police because Carter is his cousin. No charges were ever filed.
This week, police arrested Carter and Stokes again after detectives recognized them in surveillance video of an apartment building burglary on the 5800 block of North Kenmore.
This next part may sound familiar.
On Thursday, prosecutors said the video shows Carter using a tool to manipulate the building’s door while Stokes blocked the view of passersby around 2:45 p.m. on September 17. Both men then entered the building, went to the mailroom, collected packages, and walked out the back door, an assistant state’s attorney said.
Carter and Stokes are now charged with burglary in that case. Judge David Navarro set bail at $10,000 for each man. They will need to post $1,000 to get out of jail. Navarro also ordered them to stay away from each other.
Prosecutors said Thursday that they might try to get a grand jury to indict Carter and Stokes for the burglary cases their office dropped.
Stokes has four previous felony convictions, most recently for aggravated battery of police in 2008. Carter’s record includes felony convictions for armed robbery, aggravated discharge of a firearm, and other violations.
Due to their backgrounds, both men face Class X felony sentencing if they are convicted of the burglaries, according to prosecutors.
Facts first. 100% reader-funded. Click here to support CWBChicago today.