NWH-4-25-2014

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PR girls soccer takes win over C-G after penalty kicks

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FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014

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Man found not guilty in murder case Judge declares Round Lake Beach resident legally insane By CHELSEA McDOUGALL

Luis E. Ramirez-Arguelles, 24, was declared not guilty of first-degree murder by reason of insanity.

cmcdougall@shawmedia.com WOODSTOCK – A McHenry County judge found that a Round Lake Beach man was legally insane when he crossed into oncoming traffic and drove head on into a vehicle driven by Sonia Hume. The Hebron-area crash killed the 38-year-old woman, who was pronounced dead on the scene. Luis E. Ramirez-Arguelles, 24, was charged with first-degree murder, and on Wednesday Judge Sharon Prather declared him not guilty by reason of insanity. Ramirez-Arguelles told police he heard voices telling him to stop the “bad guys” in the car driven by Hume just before he crashed into her on Aug. 5, 2011. Ramirez-Arguelles also told authorities he had special powers, that he could see into hearts, and he believed he was a ninja, attorneys have said. Prosecutors said Ramirez-Arguelles was driving faster than 55 miles per hour on Tryon Grove Road, just east of Barnard Mill Road. When police told him the woman died, he said he would have done it the same, Assistant State’s Attorney Sharyl Eisenstein has said. He was previously found psychologically incompetent to stand trial, and a stipulat-

Photos by Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com

ed bench trial was held last month before Prather. Competency, or fitness, pertains to a defendant’s current mental status and ability to assist in the defense. Insanity deals with whether a person was legally able to tell the difference between right and wrong while committing a crime. Although prosecutors p r o v e d t h a t R a m i r e z - A rguelles was guilty of first-degree murder, Prather also found the defense provided “clear and convincing” evidence that he suffered from a mental disease at the time. His defense attorney Michael Melius said his client was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. “There is no evidence to indicate that he was anything other than insane at the time this happened,” Melius said last month. Ramirez-Arguelles was ordered to the custody of the Department of Human Services and a future hearing will determine whether further treatment is necessary. His next court date is June 11.

“There is no evidence to indicate that he was anything other than insane at the time this happened.” Michael Melius

Andy Kamai (left) of Gurnee looks at the menu Wednesday while Arielle Nelson writes down his order at Epic Deli in Johnsburg. Kamai has never written an online review but frequents Yelp to look at other people’s reviews.

For better or worse, online reviews to stay Experts stress businesses to monitor web reputations By CHELSEA McDOUGALL cmcdougall@shawmedia.com Online reviews: Love ’em or hate ’em, experts say they’re here to stay, so businesses better learn to live with ‘em. As consumer-review websites such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, Angie’s List, or Urbanspoon gain traction, some small business owners are saying that a reputation that took decades to build can be undone with a few taps of a keyboard. Local online reviews range anywhere from the stomach churning: “A defective toilet which flushed

the toilet water all over me and my face.” To the downright mean: “The waitstaff is clueless.” “The hostesses are weird.” To the overly descriptive: The food looked like “a pile of two inch black worms and tasted about the same.” An Epic Deli employee puts together a cheeto-wich sandwich. To the simply stated: “You suck.” On the Web Experts say there has never been a more importFor a map of the top places to eat and shop in McHenry County, ant time for businesses to manage their online repu- visit NWHerald.com. tations. Consumers often first turn to online reviews Voice your opinion before deciding where to

See REVIEWS, page A10

Have you ever written an online review for a local business? Vote online at NWHerald.com.

Luis E. Ramirez-Arguelles’ defense attorney

Chicago pediatrician killed while volunteering in Afghanistan Among three Americans dead after shooting in Kabul hospital By CARLA K. JOHNSON and DON BABWIN The Associated Press CHICAGO – From Chicago to Afghanistan, Dr. Jerry Umanos dedicated his service to poor children.

The pediatrician was among three Americans killed when an Afghan security guard opened fire Thursday at a Kabul hospital. He was volunteering in Afghanistan to train young doctors, periodically returning to Chicago to

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work in a Christian clinic on the city’s southwest side. Umanos “was always working to help inner-city kids and trying to help out any needy, poor kids anywhere,” said Jeff Schuitema, Umanos’ brotherin-law. The fatal shootings at Cure International Hospital in western Kabul were the latest in a string of deadly attacks on foreign civilians in the Afghan capital this year.

Dr. Jerry Umanos Chicago pediatrician who was killed while working in a hospital in Afghanistan.

In an interview inside her Chicago home, Jan Schuitema, Umanos’ wife, said he always wanted to work with children, and became fascinated with

Sarah Nader – snader@shawmedia.com

MCC TRUSTEES PASS FACULTY DEAL

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McHENRY: McHenry East grad headed to Oman for two months after winning scholarship to study Arabic. Local, B1

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about the people in the country,” she said. “They are no different than us here.” The couple moved individually back and forth between the two countries. They knew other people who had been killed in Afghanistan – doctors, nurses and community development workers. Yet they did not live in fear. “There’s always a concern.

McHenry County’s

CRYSTAL LAKE The McHenry County College Board of Trustees unanimously approved a new three-year deal with the full-time faculty association Thursday night. The contract was posted on the college’s website Tuesday to give the public an opportunity to view the details. For more, see page B1.

Bridget Hansen

Afghanistan when visiting through a Christian clinic in 2006. “What he would really want people who care about this to know is that he really did love Afghanistan and the Afghan people,” said Jan Schuitema, a teacher in Chicago who also spent time teaching in Afghanistan. “This should in no way negatively impact people’s feelings about the country or


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