Jan
12
Reginald Potts Trial In Nailah Franklin Killing Set For Feb. 19
Filed Under Nailah Franklin, Reginald Potts, crime | 2 Comments
Nailah
Franklin
Reginald Potts’ murder trial — he is charged with killing Nailah Franklin — is set for February 19.
Writes the Northwest Indiana Times‘ Kirsten Srinivasan:
After pleading not guilty, a Cook County judge set a trial date for 31-year-old Chicago man accused of killing a Chicago woman whose body was found in Calumet City.
Judge Nicholas Ford set a Feb. 19 trial date for Reginald Potts, who is charged with 16 counts of first-degree murder, four counts of aggravated kidnapping and one count each of vehicular hijacking and robbery in the death of 28-year-old Nailah Franklin.
Potts, who appeared in Cook County court Friday morning, has indicated he wants to represent himself in the case.
Ford said it was critical that Potts “understand the error” of rushing into the case without all the discovery and without a private attorney. The judge gave the defendant until a Jan. 22 status hearing to make a final effort to hire a private attorney.
No discovery and pro-se representation probably means that Reginald Potts is going to be found guilty and sent away for a long time.
Dec
30
Deadly Motel Attack Shocks Region
Filed Under Merrillville, crime | Leave a Comment
A motel party always portends fun times, but an early Saturday morning get together turned deadly after a man fired his gun on people waiting for an elevator at Merrillville’s Country Inn & Suites after an argument, according to news reports.
A Gary man is dead and four other people — one woman and three men — were injured in the 1 a.m. gunfire.
Dead is 20-year-old John Boyd of Gary. He died at Methodist Hospital Southlake at 8:26 a.m. Saturday, according to the Post-Tribune and the Northwest Indiana Times.
Reports the Post-Tribune’s Piet Levy:
“I heard gunshots and people running around,” said Kenneth Stewart, who stayed at the hotel Friday night while visiting from Indianapolis. “It was horrific.”Stewart’s friend claimed he saw the shooting. While he was inside his room, No. 315, he said he heard arguing in the hallway. When he opened the door and looked out, he said he saw a man pull out a gun and fire six shots at a group of 10 to 12 people near the elevator.
“There was blood everywhere,” the man said, who ran from the hotel following the attack.
The Northwest Indiana Times reports that Merrillville police have identified a person of interest in the deadly attack, but hadn’t made an arrest as of Saturday afternoon.
Dec
22
Chicago and Hammond police have busted a prostitution ring allegedly run by budding hip hop artists who advertised erotic services on Craigslist, reports the Northwest Indiana Times. This story sounds like a rap video — hip hop artists were pimping women and runaway children to get money to expand their musical careers.
A November prostitution bust in Hammond helped Cook County bring charges Friday against four aspiring hip-hop artists and producers whom authorities say also ran a sophisticated prostitution ring through the Internet site Craigslist.
Three Chicago men and one from Evergreen park each face one count of involuntary servitude of a minor, a Class X felony that falls under a law enacted in January 2006 and is being applied in Cook County for the first time, sheriff’s police spokeswoman Penny Mateck said. The men are accused of pimping at least 11 women, four of whom ranged in age from 15 to 17, she said.
Authorities said the men apparently intended to use income from the prostitution to further their musical ambitions.
In addition, five Chicago women and a 20-year-old from southern Missouri face prostitution charges after their arrests during the investigation, Mateck said. He said a number of juvenile girls were questioned by police but released without charge.
