A Chicago man on electronic home monitoring for an armed robbery charge was found by police seven miles away from his residence.
When police asked Jose Macias, 25, why he was so far away from home on October 10, his excuse was he was trying to catch the family dog, CWB reported. As police were bringing the suspect to the station, he also allegedly caused $1,432.18 in damages to a police vehicle by kicking the windows and bars.
Macias was hit with an extra felony criminal damage to property charge. However, he is not facing escape from electronic monitoring charges because absences of less than 48 hours are decriminalized by law.
Marcia’s armed robbery charge stems from an April 2 incident where he allegedly held a woman at knifepoint and took her money, phones, and AirPods from her at a CTA train station. He then threatened to come to her home if she did not oblige.
Macias was arrested and brought before Judge Maryam Ahmad on the same day as the alleged offense. The judge ordered him to pay $25,000 of his $250,000 (ten percent) bail to be released on electronic monitoring before his trial. However, another judge, Carol Howard, allowed him to walk on his own recognizance and placed him on electronic monitoring in June.
For the most recent incident, Judge Mary Marubio “gave Macias a recognizance bond for the criminal damage charge and ordered that he be held without bail until Judge Howard reviews his bond,” according to CWB Chicago.
Electronic Monitoring is a Cook County pre-trial program designed to ease prison overcrowding and keep alleged criminals at home as they await trial. Participants are fitted with an ankle bracelet that will alert police if they leave their residences unless they have a court-ordered pre-approved reason for leaving.
However, the program has received intense public scrutiny due to the number of participants who re-offend. As of January, nearly 100 individuals facing murder charges were walking free on electronic monitoring, Breitbart News reported.
Chicago and Illinois residents are worried that the state’s bail laws will only be weakened further when Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s (D) SAFE-T Act is implemented on January 1, 2023.
The legislation is set to eliminate cash bail for most crimes, which may result in criminals who have committed alleged violent crimes being released onto the streets. As Breitbart News reported, critics say that police stations and jails will become revolving doors for alleged criminals come the new year.
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.