Court & crime news Three Ohio children rescued from Beach Park man

On January 21, at approximately 12:30 p.m., the Lake County Sheriff’s Office received a call from the parent of a missing juvenile from Middleton, Ohio.

The parent said their two children a 12-year-old girl, a 14-year-old girl, as well as a friend of their daughters, a 15-year-old boy, were all missing. The parent said one of the cellular phones tracked somewhere in the area of the 10600 block of West Yorkhouse Road, Beach Park.

Lake County Sheriff’s Telecommunicators obtained additional information about the missing children from the caller, and learned an unknown male, driving a Ford Mustang left Middleton with the children at approximately 10:30 p.m. on January 20, 2023. Sheriff’s Telecommunicators searched an internal database and found Michael Negron, 19, of the 10600 block of West Yorkhouse Road, Beach Park, drove a Ford Mustang which matched the description of the vehicle that was seen in Middleton, Ohio.

Sheriff’s deputies began checking the area and located the Ford at a gas station in the area of Lewis Avenue and Wadsworth Road, Beach Park. They located the three juveniles and Negron. Negron was arrested and transported to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division. The juveniles were all taken to safety at the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center.

Further investigation revealed Negron was communicating with the 12-year-old for several weeks on Fortnite, SnapChat, and other social media platforms. Negron drove the Middleton, Ohio area on January 18, 2023, and stayed at a hotel. It is believed he interacted with the three juveniles several times during his stay in Middleton. He then departed with the three juveniles on January 20 and drove them to Beach Park. One of the children texted their parent a description of the car they were in, which helped the sheriff’s office search for and locate Negron and the juveniles.

It is unclear what exactly Negron’s intentions were with the children.

After hearing the facts and circumstances of the situation, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved one count of kidnapping and three counts of child endangerment.

Sheriff John D. Idleburg said, “It is an unfortunate reality, but there are predators among us who prey on children. Many of these predators use social media applications to initially meet a child and build trust with them. After that trust is built, they convince the child to meet. It is incredibly important to look at your children’s electronics to see what applications they are using, who they are communicating with, and what they are saying. I am so proud of my staff for working together to quickly locate and rescue these children.”

Negron remains held in the Lake County Jail pending an initial court hearing this morning. Additional charges are possible.

Twin brothers in custody for armed robbery

On January 18, at approximately 6:35 p.m., McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched for an armed robbery in the parking lot of Napoli’s Pizza, 7613 Howe Road, Wonder Lake.

Initial investigation showed that two victims pulled into Napoli’s Pizza and parked next to a gray Chevrolet car. Upon exiting the car, a victim was approached by suspect Dashaun Harvest, who demanded money from the victim at gunpoint. The victim complied and Harvest got back into the vehicle and was driven away.

The victims followed the suspects’ vehicle, who began firing shots towards the victims’ car. The shots were later identified as pellets from a pellet gun. Woodstock Police Department was able to conduct a traffic stop on the suspects’ vehicle after the victims called 911. During the traffic stop, passenger Dawun Harvest was found to be concealing a gun, later identified as a pellet gun.

Dashaun Harvest, 24, was charged with 1 count of armed robbery (Class 1) and 1 count of mob action (Class C) and was being held on $100,000 bond.

Dawun Harvest, 24, was charged with 1 count of obstructing (Class 4), and 1 count of mob action (Class C) and was being held on $10,000 bond.

The case is still pending investigation by McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.

Five teenagers injured in single vehicle crash

A 17-year-old Algonquin female is in serious condition, and four other teenagers were hospitalized, following a single-vehicle crash in unincorporated Grafton Township.

On January 21, at 8:56 p.m., members of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, Lakewood Police Department, Crystal Lake Fire Protection District, Woodstock Fire Protection District, and Huntley Fire Protection District responded to the 11100 block of Conley Road for a single-vehicle roll over traffic crash.

Preliminary investigation indicated that a 2013 Infiniti G37 was traveling west on Conley Road when it passed another vehicle traveling west in a no passing zone. The Infiniti then left the roadway to the north where it rolled over and crashed through a fence and into a field.

The driver of the Infiniti, a 17-year-old Algonquin man, the 17-year-old female, and three other teenagers, (two 16 year old males and an 18 year old female), were all transported by ambulance to Northwestern Hospitals in Huntley and Woodstock. The female was later transported to Advocate Lutheran General in Libertyville where she remains in serious condition.

The investigation is ongoing by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Major Traffic Crash Investigation Unit.

Man charged with solicitation to meet a child, grooming

On January 17, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division in collaboration with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) concluded an investigation which resulted in the arrest of a man for the offense of indecent solicitation of a child.

For the past several weeks Thomas E. Edwards, Jr., 29, of the 200 block of Glen Street, Grayslake, was communicating with an undercover detective online. The detective was posing as a girl under the age of 15. During the conversations, Edwards claimed to be 26 years of age. During their conversations, Edwards began enticing the ‘child’ to meet with him to engage in sexual acts with him. Additionally, Edwards sent videos to the girl of himself engaged in sexual acts.

On January 17, Edwards drove to meet with who he thought was the girl to engage in the sexual acts. When he arrived, he was arrested by sheriff’s detectives.

After reviewing the facts and circumstances, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved the following charges: Traveling to Meet a Minor (Class 3 Felony), Grooming (Class 4 Felony), Solicitation to Meet a Child (Class 4 Felony), and Dissemination of Harmful Material (Class 4 Felony).

Following an initial court hearing, Edwards remains held in the Lake County Jail on $250,000 bail. He is next due in court on February 16.

Woman arrested, charged with stealing mail from neighbors

On January 18, at approximately 1:20 p.m. the Lake County Sheriff’s Office received a call of a suspicious vehicle in the area of Schaeffer Road and Manassas Lane, Long Grove. The caller reported the person in the vehicle was lingering around several mailboxes. Sheriff’s deputies responded and checked the area, however, the vehicle was gone before their arrival. Later in the day, at approximately 4:15 p.m., another call was received about the same suspicious vehicle and person, again lingering around the mailboxes. The caller was concerned as she was aware of prior mail thefts in the area.

The second caller was able to obtain a license plate of the vehicle and relayed that information to sheriff’s telecommunicators. The sheriff’s deputy assigned to Long Grove responded and located the vehicle in the area of Bridgewater Lane and Gettysburg Road. The sheriff’s deputy conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and spoke to the driver, Gabriella Pollari, 44, of the 1300 block of Bridgewater Lane, Long Grove. While speaking to the driver, the sheriff’s deputy observed drug paraphernalia and drugs in Pollari’s vehicle.

Pollari was arrested and her vehicle was searched. The sheriff’s deputy located mail and packages in Pollari’s vehicle belonging to numerous victims who live in the area. This mail contained very sensitive information such as social security numbers, tax documents, checks, and more.

Pollari was arrested and subsequently charged with: Identity Theft (Class 3 Felony), Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance – Cocaine (Class 4 Felony), and Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Misdemeanor).

Additional charges are possible.

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Sheriff John D. Idleburg said, “The community plays a significant role in reporting crimes and suspicious activity. Thanks to this alert member of the community calling us to report what they saw, and our deputies working hard to locate the vehicle, we were able to arrest this person stealing other people’s mail. Great job to everyone involved.”

The U.S. Postal Police have been contacted and are also investigating.

Residents in this area missing mail should contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Pollari was held in the Lake County Jail pending an initial court hearing.