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Randolph County State's Attorney Case Updates

Posted March 12, 2015 11:00 pm

By Staff Report The Herald Tribune

People v. Sandra K. Booth:

On February 13, Sandra K. Booth, 53, of Walsh, pled guilty to the offense of unlawful possession of cannabis before the Honorable Judge Gene Gross.

Pursuant to the terms of the negotiated plea, Booth was sentenced to two years of probation, with a condition to seek alcohol and substance abuse counseling, as well as pay a $1,000 fine and a $500 drug assessment fee.

The charges stemmed from the execution of a search warrant at Booth's residence on September 16 involving officers from the Randolph County Sheriff's Office and Chester Police Department.

Booth was originally charged with possessing more than 500 grams, but less than 2,000 grams of cannabis; however, the charge was amended per the plea agreement to more than 30 grams, but less than 500 grams of cannabis, a Class 4 felony.

"Our records did not reveal any prior criminal history regarding Ms. Booth," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "Due to this lack of prior history, we amended the charge to an offense that is eligible for first offender probation.

"If Ms. Booth completed substance abuse counseling, pays her fine and does not violate any laws for the next two years, she will be able to have the charge dismissed against her. Hopefully she learns from this mistake, but she has an opportunity to come out of this with a clean record. I hope she does."

Orlando S. Richardson:

On February 13, Orlando S. Richardson, 49, last known address Sparta, pled guilty to the offense of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance (cocaine) within 1,000 feet of a place of worship before Judge Gene Gross.

Pursuant to the terms of the negotiated plea, Richardson was sentenced to seven years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine, $2,000 drug assessment fee and a $1,000 assessment to the Randolph County Drug Fund.

In addition, to the seven-year prison sentence, Richardson will have to complete two years of supervised release upon his release from the Department of Corrections.

Charges in this matter stemmed from an investigation completed by officers from the Randolph County Sheriff's Office and Sparta Police Department in 2012, with the transaction taking place in the City of Sparta.

"Mr. Richardson was not a first offender and we are pleased with the seven-year sentence," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "It is also a benefit to be able to receive money for drug enforcement purposes back from those who violate the law.

"As I have explained before, the drug assessment fees are distributed to the State of Illinois. However, a percentage of the fine and the assessment to the Randolph County Drug Fund will stay in the County and help future investigations."

James H. Williams

On February 23, 30-year-old James H. Williams, of Chester, pled guilty to the offense of unlawful procurement of methamphetamine precursors before Judge Gross.

Pursuant to the terms of the negotiated plea, Williams was placed on probation for a period of two years, ordered to complete drug and alcohol counseling, pay the court costs and a mandatory $1,000 drug assessment fee.

Williams' charges stemmed from an investigation completed by the Randolph, Perry and Jackson County Sheriff's Departments. Williams admitted to possessing methamphetamine precursors in December 2013 during the plea.

"Mr. Williams did not have any prior felony convictions prior to this matter," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "I hope he gets the help that is required by the probation order in this matter. If he does, I will be quite happy to never pull the file again.

"However, if Mr. Williams violates his probation, he can still receive up to five years in prison. Other individuals in this investigation have been prosecuted by the federal authorities and received long sentences."

"I appreciate the cooperation of the multiple agencies involved and we hope others thinking of buying pills or other ingredients for meth take notice people are being prosecuted locally and federally for their involvement," Walker added. "I hope at least one person will think twice before they do so again."

Thrisia L. Jaquez:

On February 24, Thrisia L. Jaquez, 32, of Chester, pled guilty to the offense of unlawful delivery of methamphetamine before the Honorable Richard A. Brown.

No agreement was reached as to the sentence and a sentencing hearing has been set for April 10 at 9 a.m. Jaquez, during the plea, admitted to delivering less than five grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant in Chester on April 29, 2014.

"It does not appear Ms. Jaquez has any prior felony convictions," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "Nonetheless, I am not a big fan of giving drug dealers probation, especially when they are dealing meth.

"I can't say it doesn't happen, but I did not feel this was the case to give someone a break. The Judge may give her probation, but we will be asking for a sentence to the Department of Corrections."

Sierra L. Davis:

On February 26, Sierra L. Davis, 25, of Du Quoin, pled guilty to the offense of retail theft and was sentenced to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections by Judge Gene Gross.

During the negotiated plea, Davis admitted to stealing items from the Sparta Walmart on January 12.

Additionally, Davis admitted to having a prior retail theft conviction in Jackson County, which enhanced the charge from a misdemeanor to a felony.

"Ms. Davis had multiple prior felony convictions and the prior retail theft discussed above," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "I do not believe in continuing to give probation to people that continue to violate the law.

"That being said, we did recommend, and Ms. Davis agreed to participate in, the impact incarceration program with DOC. Provided Ms. Davis is able to complete the impact incarceration program, commonly referred to as 'boot camp,' Ms. Davis will be out of DOC in six-to-eight months."

"I hope she does so and this experience will open her eyes you cannot continue to violate the law," Walker added.

The Sparta Police Department handled the investigation on this matter.

Isaiah L. Williams and Crystal L. Williams:

On February 26, both Isaiah and Crystal Williams (husband and wife) pled guilty to possessing less than five grams of methamphetamine before Judge Gene Gross.

Isaiah, 24, of Chester, and Crystal, 27, of Chester, admitted to possessing the methamphetamine on August 6, 2014.

Pursuant to the negotiated plea, both defendants were placed on probation for two years, ordered to complete drug/alcohol counseling and pay a mandatory $500 drug assessment fee.

The investigation was a joint operation between the Sparta Police Department and the Chester Police Department.

Additionally, two additional defendants are awaiting trial in March resulting from this investigation.

"Neither of these two had any prior felonies before these charges," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "They now both stand as convicted felons and will be given the opportunity to seek help for drug use issues.

"If they don't, we will be back in court and they face up to five years in prison on the charges. I appreciate the efforts of the Sparta Police Department and Chester Police Department working together in this matter."

"Sharing of information and a willingness to work together can lead to good things," Walker added. "We have seen a lot more of this lately, and I am certainly glad to see benefits from it."

Stephen M. Stephenson:

On February 27, Stephen M. Stephenson, 59, of Chester, was sentenced by the Honorable Richard A. Brown to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Stephenson had previously pled guilty to the offense of Aggravated Battery regarding an incident occurring on September 27, 2014 in Chester.

During the sentencing hearing, the State requested the maximum prison sentence of 10 years and the Defendant requested a more lenient sentence, but acknowledged a prison sentence was likely to be delivered by the Court.

"I am happy the Defendant received the maximum sentence of 10 years, but honestly I am still a little disappointed we could not come up with a charge to give him more time," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "Mr. Stephenson slashed the throat of a friend; however, the victim has luckily recovered well and is experiencing no real pain or problems from the injury."

"Additionally, we did not have any evidence of premeditation to make an attempted murder charge applicable," Walker added. "If I could have proven a case for more time, I would have as Mr. Stephenson is a career criminal with numerous felony convictions and lengthy stays in the Department of Corrections.

"Nonetheless, we maximized the charge we could prove. The victim was comfortable with the outcome and Mr. Stephenson will be at least 65 before he gets out."

The Chester Police Department handled the investigation.

Breat M. Walls:

On February 27, Breat M. Walls, 25, of Marion, was sentenced by Judge Brown to 10 months in the Randolph County Jail and two years of probation following a sentencing hearing.

Walls had previously pled guilty to the offense of aggravated battery occurring in Coulterville on July 3, 2014.

Walls was originally charged with the offense of criminal sexual assault. The State requested a prison sentence of five years and the Defendant requested a sentence of probation during the sentencing hearing.

"I understand the Judge's decision and as I said during the hearing, there is more to this case than what Breat pled to," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker. "However, I was unable to locate the victim as we neared trial and to this day, I have not been able to locate the victim.

"Numerous agencies, including the Coulterville Police Department and the Randolph County Sheriff's Office attempted to locate her."

"Nonetheless, we took what we could get and know we did our best to give her a voice," Walker added.

The Randolph County Sheriff's Office handled the investigation in this matter.

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