A Mexican national appeared in Lake County court by Zoom from ICE custody and a jury trial has been set for charges alleging he dumped the body of a missing Antioch woman.
Jose Luis Mendoza-Gonzalez, 52, of Waukegan, appeared in Lake County Circuit Court last Wednesday before Judge Victoria A. Rossetti for a case management conference.
Mendoza-Gonzalez is currently being held by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Clay County, Indiana Justice Center.
Mendoza-Gonzalez appeared remotely for the very brief court hearing via Zoom.
An attorney from the Lake County Public Defender’s Office, which is representing Mendoza-Gonzalez, filed a motion for speedy trial.
Rossetti scheduled the next case management hearing for October 2. A jury trial is set to begin on November 10.
Mendoza-Gonzalez is facing charges of abuse of a corpse, two counts of concealing the death of a person and obstructing justice.
Mendoza-Gonzalez, who is a Mexican national, faces the charges 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 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. Her cause of death remains undetermined.
Mendoza-Gonzalez was released from custody following a First Appearance Court hearing on April 12, which a judge 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.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office previously said it was preparing an official request for Mendoza-Gonzalez to 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 last month.
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.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said agents arrested Mendoza-Gonzalez last month at a market in Chicago, leading to him being held in ICE custody.