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Streator meth suspect with 300 violations wins appeal · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Streeter meth suspect with three hundred violations wins appeal. Written
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  by Tom Collins. This article is being read by an
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  automated voice brought to you by Everlett. LaSalle County judges
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  were fed up they had granted suspects pre trial release
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  only to see defendants skip court dates and tamper with
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  their GPS ankle bracelets. So the judges came up with
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  a solution. The Safety Act gives judges the right to
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  hand down thirty day sanctions, that is, jail sentences for
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  violations of release, So why not hand down thirty days
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  for each violation. A drug suspect who was slapped with
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  ninety days for multiple violations nearly three hundred of them,
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  appealed in won and appeals court rejected the idea of
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  multiple sanctions, but that ruling appears ripe for review. Wednesday,
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  the Third District Appellate Court handed down a ruling that
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  effectively caps jail time for pre trial violations at thirty days,
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  even when a defendant has broken multiple conditions of pre
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  trial release, and in a head snapping turn of events, Thursday,
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  the Appellate Court agreed to stay the order or mandate.
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  In legal parlance while appellate prosecutors seek a rehearing or
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  ticket the issue for the Supreme Court. LaSalle County State's
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  attorney Joannavarro said he disagrees with Wednesday's ruling and thinks
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  Matthews didn't deserve any relief. This particular individual had two
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  hundred and ninety violations. Navarro said that is a classic
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  example of the Safety Act and its stupidity that he
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  can only serve thirty days for two hundred ninety violations.
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  In the past, he'd have been held in contempt, held
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  in jail, or had his bond revoked. The case might
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  not be finished, but round one went in favor of
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  Robert Matthews of Strader, who has appending meth case. Matthews
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  racked up two hundred ninety pre trial violations, according to
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  court records, and was punish with a trio of thirty
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  day sanctions. On appeal, Matthews argued the Safety Act didn't
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  give judges authority to impose multiple thirty day sanctions. Three
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  appellate justices agreed with him. The statute states that sanctions
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  for violations may include imprisonment in the county jail for
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  a period, not exceeding thirty days. Justice Linda Davenport wrote
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  in an unanimous opinion, Thus, it plainly authorizes one thirty
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  day period, even when the state has proved multiple violations.
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  Matthew's lawyer, LaSalle County Public Defender Ryan Hamer, said Thursday
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  he is very pleased with the ruling. Hamer said, there
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  are aspects of the Safety Act that might not be
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  very popular, but we have to ensure the law is
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  applied as the legislature intended.