It’s been a hot second since we shared some electronic monitoring stories with you. Let’s get you caught up with a couple of our recent favorites.
Here’s a good one. Chicago police and FBI agents made an interesting discovery while searching a supposedly abandoned apartment building on the South Side this month. Prosecutors said one of the units contained a man with a large amount of cash and marijuana and two children sitting on a bed with a gun under it.
The man was Dameon Jones, 27, who was on electronic monitoring for a pending Class X armed habitual criminal case, prosecutor Sean Kelly said. Jones’ girlfriend was in the apartment, too, along with $2,862 worth of pot, baggies, a scale, and $3,147 in cash, according to Kelly.
In the bedroom, two children were sitting on a bed. There was a loaded handgun under it, but Jones’ girlfriend claimed ownership of it, Kelly continued.
Prosecutors charged Jones with felony manufacture-delivery of cannabis, criminal trespassing, and violation of the gun offender registration act. Kelly said he was convicted of unlawful use of a weapon in 2012 and of robberies in 2013 and 2018.
Jones, according to his public defender, is unemployed, a father of six, and lives with his uncle.
Judge Kelly McCarthy held him without bail for violating bond conditions in his pending case. She ordered him to pay $4,000 toward his bail to get out of jail on the new charges. He’ll have to go on electronic monitoring again, too, she said.
Police and federal agents allegedly found 32-year-old Clear Huddleston in another apartment in the not-so-abandoned building.
Kelly said they found a gun, $1,056 worth of pot, and $40,000 in cash in the apartment with him. But he wasn’t on electronic monitoring, so that’s good.
His criminal history includes robbery in 2008, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon in 2012, theft in 2016, and armed robbery in 2016.
He’s now charged with felony manufacture-delivery of cannabis and misdemeanor charges of trespassing and unlawful use of a weapon.
McCarthy said he could go home on electronic monitoring by paying a $3,000 deposit.
Out and about
Dirk Parker was pulled over for a traffic violation in Grand Crossing in May 2021. According to prosecutors, he told cops he had pills and a gun in his waistband. The weapon, according to prosecutors, had an extended magazine, a laser sight, and an auto-fire switch.
He was charged with illegally possessing a machine gun, armed violence, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, and possession of a controlled substance. According to court records, he was released on electronic monitoring after paying a $10,000 deposit.
Last week, while he was still on electronic monitoring, Chicago cops stopped him for another traffic violation. This time, he told officers that he had a gun under his driver’s seat, prosecutors said. Cops recovered a loaded handgun with an extended magazine from under his seat.
His public defender told Judge Barbara Dawkins that Parker has been working full-time as a Domino’s pizza delivery driver while on electronic monitoring.
He’s now charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.
Dawkins held him without bail in his previous case and told him he needed to pay $25,000 in bail to be released on electronic monitoring in the new case.