Belleville Criminal Defense Blog

When a drug suspect is arrested, the duration of immediate incarceration often depends upon the person's ability to post whatever bond is ordered by the court. Occasionally, the requirement of posting a bond will be waived by the court, and the suspect may leave police custody immediately, with the only condition being that the person return for the preliminary hearing. In a recent case involving a suspected drug dealer, a federal magistrate overruled a state court order for a bond and allowed the suspect to be set free.

The suspect was originally charged in Madison County Court on March 5 with three counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school. The substance was allegedly cocaine, and the man was ordered held in the Madison County jail unless he posted a bond of $200,000. Each charge carries a potential sentence of six to 30 years in prison. The suspect was then charged with the same three crimes in federal court in Southern Illinois. He was taken to the federal courthouse in East St. Louis for a preliminary hearing. The federal magistrate judge who conducted the hearing did not require the defendant to post a bond, and he was returned to Madison County.

Police use a variety of methods to identify suspected criminals. One of the most common is closed-circuit TV cameras. Sometimes, the cameras provide a high-resolution facial photo and sometimes the cameras reveal more mundane items that can lead to an arrest. In a recent bank robbery in Benton, a pharmacy bag led police to a man who allegedly used a toy pistol to steal $12,500.

According to reports, the man entered the bank and walked up to a teller. He displayed what the teller took to be a handgun. The man told the teller to fill a plastic bag with cash. The teller complied, placing $12,500 into the bag. The man then left the bank without making any obvious attempts to hide his identity.

Police departments in the Belleville area generally issue a press release after they arrest the suspect in a major crime. The press release usually contains a description of the crime, identifies the suspect and describes how police found the suspect. In a recent arrest in Belleville, the press release appears to raise more questions than it answers.

The crime in question involved the daylight robbery of an auto mechanic who had been called to repair a disabled vehicle. The victim told police that he was approached by three men and robbed at gunpoint. The police statement says that the victim was shot in the hand, but the how and why of the shooting were not disclosed. After the three men left the crime scene, the victim began to drive his car to obtain treatment for his wound. He was intercepted by an emergency services vehicle that was on its way to the crime scene. The EMTs took the victim to a nearby hospital where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Sexual abuse can come to light in many ways. One of the most common is an allegation of sexual abuse made to a health care professional. Medical care givers are required to report such allegations to the police. A recent incident involving a teen-age girl's statement to a medical professional has resulted in nearly a dozen charges of sexual abuse being levied at a Belleville man.

Two girls, both 14 years old, claim that the suspect forced them to have sex with him and to perform sexual acts for him. The police investigation showed that the abuse happened in both Mascoutah and Belleville. The investigation also led police to conclude that some of the incidents occurred in Scheve Park in Mascoutah. Surveillance cameras in the park and in a nearby private home allegedly provided crucial information to police.