Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, who let Jussie Smollett off the hook a few weeks ago, also let a convicted murderer go free in 2016.
The short version of the story is that a 14-year-old Dionte Johnson participated in a gang killing in 2009.
Because he was a juvenile, then-Assistant State’s Attorney Kim Foxx told the victim’s family it was best to pursue a special prosecution where Johnson would be convicted of a 30-year prison term, but that would be stayed and only enforced if “he was convicted of a new felony after being released from juvenile custody.”
That day came in November of 2016. After being released from juvenile detention some time earlier, Johnson was convicted of “felony Aggravated Fleeing after a Chicago police chase”.
On the same day as his conviction, Foxx won her election to become Cook County State’s Attorney and then REFUSED to enforce the 30-year prison term for Johnson, much to the dismay of the victim’s family.
Johnson walked free and the victim’s family wants to know why.
Here’s more from ABC 7:
The family of 16-year-old Derrion Albert wants to know why one of the men convicted in his murder is now free. The 16-year-old Fenger High School honors student was on the way home from school when he was caught in the middle of a gang fight and killed in 2009.
The I-Team has been looking into the Cook County State’s Attorney decisions in the wake of the Jussie Smollett case and uncovered that the Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx decided not to pursue a stiff prison sentence for one of the attackers shortly after she took office.
Cook County Prosecutors charged four teens involved in the gang melee that led to Albert’s death as adults. Three were convicted of murder at trial. One pleaded guilty. All are serving prison sentences.
But one teen – known then as “D.J.” – was 14 at the time. Prosecutors say he punched Albert and knocked him down, saying that he signed “his death certificate.”
Prosecutors decided to charge him as a juvenile in a special kind of case called an Extended Jurisdiction Juvenile prosecution or EJJ.
That means although “D.J.” was convicted as a juvenile – he was also sentenced to 30 years as an adult on the underlying offense of murder. However, that sentence would be stayed and not enforced unless he was convicted of a new felony after being released from juvenile custody.
Albert’s family says then-Assistant State’s Attorney Kim Foxx decided to go the EJJ prosecution route and explained it to them.
“Kim Foxx kept telling us that was the best way to go, that way we have some kind of, the safety net,” said Anjanette Albert, Derrion’s mother. “That way if he got in trouble he goes back, that’s what it is.”
In 2015, 14-year-old “D.J.” was now 20 year old Dionte Johnson – out of juvenile prison – arrested and charged with felony Aggravated Fleeing after a Chicago police chase. Court records obtained by the I-Team show prosecutors filed notice that they were “seeking to revoke stay of his adult sentence.”
“They said that because he got in trouble now we were going to get the 30 years,” Anjanette Albert said.
Johnson was convicted of the felony on November 8 2016, Election Day. The same day that Foxx, who supervised the Albert case convictions, won the State’s Attorney’s race. Soon after, the Albert family says they were called to a meeting at the juvenile court building.
“They call us down there and tell us that the State’s Attorney decided to not pursue the motion,” said Norman Golliday, Derrion’s grandfather.
Anjanette Albert said they told them that, “Kim Foxx decided not to go any further with this to just, it’s over. She’s going to drop it and he’s going to get out and there was nothing that we could do.”
Cook County prosecutors were no longer seeking to enforce the 30 year sentence. Instead, they’d ask a judge for probation.
“One of the gentlemen said that it was determined that he had been rehabilitated,” said Golliday. “My face almost fell off my head. I could not believe that the guy actually said that.”
Anjanette Albert said she repeatedly called Foxx’s office, but Foxx never called her back.
Foxx not only got Johnson a lighter juvenile detention sentence of about 6 years, she then completely let him off the hook after he violated the terms of their deal.
So essentially she let him off the hook twice.