The sheriff is investigating after a Lake County judge received “significant threats” following nationwide news that she released a suspect charged with dumping the body of a missing Antioch woman.
Lake County Judge Randie Bruno has received “significant threats and harassment” over the last few days, according to the 19th Judicial Circuit Court.
The threats and harassment are being addressed in coordination with law enforcement.
“These threats appear to stem from an inaccurate press release issued over the weekend (subsequently corrected) by a federal law enforcement agency, erroneous reporting by several media outlets covering the underlying criminal case, and social media posts containing a wide array of incorrect statements,” the circuit court said in a statement.
On Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested Jose Luis Mendoza-Gonzalez, 52, of Waukegan.
Agents arrested Mendoza-Gonzalez at a market in Chicago and he is being held in ICE custody.
Mendoza-Gonzalez, who is a Mexican national, was out of custody at the time of his arrest after he was charged in connection with the death of Megan Bos, 37, of Antioch.
Megan Bos was reported missing to the Antioch Police Department on March 9 after she was last heard from on February 17.
Her body was discovered bleached, decomposed, wrapped in a blanket and in a trash can at a home in the 700 block of Yeoman Street in Waukegan on April 10.
Mendoza-Gonzalez was arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse, two counts of concealing the death of a person and obstructing justice.
Bruno released Mendoza-Gonzalez from custody following a First Appearance Court hearing on April 12, which she was required to do because of state law under the SAFE-T Act.
All of the charges against Mendoza-Gonzalez are Class 4 felonies but none of them are detainable offenses under the cashless bail law, so prosecutors could not file a petition to have him held pending trial and Bruno was forced to release him.
After Mendoza-Gonzalez’s arrest by ICE over the weekend, the event made national news and led to some news outlets and federal officials directly blaming Bruno for releasing Mendoza-Gonzalez, resulting in the threats and harassment she received.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said it was “absolutely repulsive that a judge freed this monster and allowed him to walk free on Illinois’s streets after allegedly committing such a heinous crime.”
“Disinformation undermines our Republic. Threats of violence and intimidation against judges weaken our democracy. Knowing what happens in court and understanding the law are essential to public trust,” the circuit court said in the statement on Tuesday.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office told Lake and McHenry County Scanner it is aware of threatening social media posts and harassing correspondence directed at Bruno.
“We have launched an investigation into the matter,” Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said.
“Making threats, especially against a sitting judge, crosses the line from protected speech to potential criminal conduct, and we take such behavior very seriously,” Covelli added.
Court officials say the Illinois SAFE-T Act’s passage in 2021 ended the use of cash bail in the state, creating the “most restrictive procedure in the nation for determining whether a person charged with a crime can be detained in jail before trial.”
The act stripped judges in Illinois of the authority to make detention decisions on their own.
It requires all criminal defendants to be released while awaiting trial unless the charges against them are specifically detainable defined under the law. It also requires the state’s attorney’s office to file a petition to detain. Both must occur before a judge can hold a defendant in jail.
“When the State’s Attorney’s office does not charge the defendant with a detainable offense or does not file a petition to detain, the SAFE-T Act prohibits a court from detaining a defendant prior to trial,” the circuit court said.
“This law prohibits Illinois judges from independently initiating detention proceedings regardless of the case or circumstances before them,” the court added.
Mendoza-Gonzalez, who remains held in ICE custody in Indiana, told detectives at the time of his April arrest that Bos had come over to his residence on the evening of February 19 and visited with him.
He said that Bos snorted unknown drugs and asked if she could hang out in his basement, which he agreed to let her do.
Mendoza-Gonzalez said he returned and believed the woman had overdosed and was deceased.
He reported that he was scared that he was going to be in trouble so he left her in the basement for a few days before moving her to the garbage can in his yard.
Mendoza-Gonzalez allegedly wrapped Bos’ body, which was bleached, in a blanket before placing it in the garbage can.
She remained there for nearly two months until being located on April 10.
Mendoza-Gonzalez also admitted to breaking Bos’ phone and throwing it into a trash can.
An autopsy on Bos performed by the coroner’s office showed no signs of trauma or a struggle.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office said it is preparing an official request that Mendoza-Gonzalez be held locally.
“As we have told the family, we believe that a criminal trial and sentencing is more appropriate than deportation procedures,” the state’s attorney’s office said in a statement on Monday.
Mendoza-Gonzalez is charged with several felonies, which can result in potential consecutive prison sentences upon a conviction.
“As people know, deportation to another country does not lead to prison in that country. If he were to agree to deportation, he could be free in days. We are hopeful that he will be brought to court so that [he] can be held fully accountable for his actions,” the state’s attorney’s office said.
The release of Mendoza-Gonzalez in April prompted local leaders to be outraged at the matter.
Antioch Mayor Scott Gartner spoke out and called for immediate reforms to the Illinois SAFE-T Act to restore judicial discretion and refocus Illinois’ criminal justice system on “public safety and human decency.”
“We have lost all common sense when it comes to enforcing law and order,” Gartner said.
“When the SAFE-T Act was being debated, there were voices sounding the alarm about what could happen if it were to become law,” Gartner said.
Illinois State Representative Tom Weber (R-Fox Lake) was joined by House Minority Floor Leader Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis), State Representative Patrick Sheehan (R-Homer Glen) and the victim’s mother, Jennifer Bos, at a press conference in May to call for reforms to Illinois’ criminal justice system, specifically to the SAFE-T Act.
“The SAFE-T Act was supposed to enhance fairness, but instead, it has done the opposite,” Weber said.
“It has removed critical discretion from judges and allowed dangerous offenders to walk free. Families are paying the price for this failed legislation, and it’s time for lawmakers to act before more lives are destroyed. Megan Bos’ family deserves better. Every family in Illinois deserves better,” Weber added.