Saturday, July 25, 2015

Lawyer says no plea deal for Waukegan man, Juan Rositas, accused of beating dogs to death with hammers

ILLINOIS -- The attorney for a Waukegan man accused of beating a family member and killing three dogs said he will not accept a plea deal with Lake County prosecutors.

Robert Ritacca said he intends to take the case against Juan Rositas, 49, to trial if Judge James Booras does not dismiss the charges against him.

"This matter will proceed to trial depending on the motion to reconsider," Ritacca said Monday.
Last week, Booras ruled against two motions filed by Ritacca to dismiss charges against Rositas.

Ritacca said in court he wanted to file a motion to reconsider that decision, but was waiting for a transcript of the court proceeding before filing the motion.


Rositas is charged in two criminal cases, one for the crimes against a family member who prosecutors allege he attacked, and another for killing three animals that had been living in the house.

He faces up to 15 counts on charges including armed violence, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated domestic battery and intimidation for attacking the family member between April 5 and April 10.

Rositas is accused of threatening to "chop up" the family member with a machete while she pleaded for her life during a confrontation. It's also alleged the victim was beaten, threatened with physical harm if she went to the hospital and forced under threat of violence to say she'd been having an affair.

Rositas also faces nine counts on charges including armed violence, animal torture and aggravated cruelty to animals in the second case. Rositas previously admitted in court that he hit the dogs with sticks and a hammer to separate them when they would fight. He said all three dogs just "passed away" between October 2014 and January 2015.

The bodies of all three animals were exhumed from the backyard and examined by investigators earlier this year. Rositas was charged in April.

He faces 10 to 30 years in prison if he's convicted of the attacks against the family member, officials said. He also faces 3 to 7 years in prison if convicted of the attacks against the animals.

He remains held in Lake County jail on $750,000 bail, authorities said. He is due back in court July 29.

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