Somebody in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office must really like Kendale Chavez. The 25-year-old has enjoyed spectacular success in criminal cases ranging from home invasion to assault with a machete to burglary, according to court records. On Monday, he told a Cook County judge that the latest allegations against him are “bullsh*t.”
We reported on one of those arrests: Back in May, Chavez was charged with theft and possessing burglary tools after police allegedly found a postal service master key along with mail and checks belonging to several other people in his bag during a traffic stop on the North Side. Prosecutors said he used the key to steal from mailboxes. Judge David Navarro released him on his own recognizance, and Chavez never showed up in court on the case again.
A judge issued a warrant for his arrest. Cops eventually found him, and he was brought back to court on August 30. His punishment for going AWOL on a felony case? Nothing. Prosecutors actually dropped all of the charges when he showed up in court that day, according to court records.
Police arrested him again in Rogers Park on November 24. A CPD spokesperson said Chavez refused to leave private property and had items taken during a burglary in Mount Prospect.
He was charged with theft, two counts of theft of lost or mislaid property, and criminal trespass to a residence. He walked out of the police station on his own recognizance less than eight hours later, according to CPD records.
On Saturday evening, a man who lives in the top floor unit of a residential building on the 6200 block of North Sacramento in West Rogers Park left his door unlocked while he did laundry in another area of the building, according to police and Assistant State’s Attorney Loukas Kalliantasis.
When the man returned to his unit, he saw Chavez standing outside his door, Kalliantasis said. The man asked Chavez what he was doing. Chavez allegedly shoved him and ran, but he didn’t get far. The alleged victim chased after him and held him until police arrived. A bag he was allegedly carrying contained a pry bar, a screwdriver, black gloves, a device that duplicates key fobs, and a set of the victim’s keys that were inside his apartment when he went to do laundry.
“That’s bullsh*t, bro,” Chavez interjected as Kalliantasis ran down the list of things police allegedly found in his bag.
“As much as you might find that an eloquent argument,” Judge Navarro replied, “It’s not gonna work on your behalf.”
He then ordered Chavez held in lieu of $50,000 bail on charges of possessing burglary tools, residential burglary, and battery. Chavez must post 10% of that get out of jail.
Speaking of bullsh*t…
In November 2018, Chavez was charged with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm for beating a senior citizen in an Uptown alley, according to court records. He received three years for that case, which is the most serious punishment he ever received.
One month before that incident, he was charged with theft and possession of a controlled substance on the North Side. He went AWOL until police arrested him in the Uptown attack, records show. Prosecutors dropped the theft and possession charges ten days later.
And two months before that, he was charged with two misdemeanor counts of aggravated assault with a machete in Cicero. Prosecutors dropped the charges at his next court appearance.
One year earlier, in 2017, he was charged with Class X felony home invasion. Prosecutors allowed him to plead guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor criminal trespass to a residence. He received probation, Kalliantasis said.
