The trial of three young Chicago men accused of beating Lenard Clark was postponed Monday after prosecutors told the judge they have been unable to locate a witness in their case.
Assistant State’s Attorneys Robert Berlin and Ellen Mandeltort appeared before Cook County Circuit Judge Daniel Locallo, who rescheduled the trials for July 20.
“We’ve been trying to locate the witness since the case was originally set for trial in April,” said Berlin outside the courtroom. Berlin said he could not name the witness “for security reasons.”
Frank Caruso, 19, of 261 W. 25th Pl.; Victor Jasas, 19, of 3728 S. Normal Ave.; and Mike Kwidzinski, 20, of 443 W. 37th St., are charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery and committing a hate crime for allegedly beating Clark on March 21, 1997, as Clark and two friends rode their bicycles near Armour Square Park .
The trial was scheduled to begin July 7, but Locallo gave prosecutors more time to locate the witness, identified by a defense attorney as Richard DeSantis, who last resided with his mother and sister in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The missing witness adds to problems prosecutors face in the highly publicized, racially charged case.
In May, Michael Cutler, 19, another witness in the case, was fatally shot, reportedly in a robbery attempt, as he visited with friends on the West Side. No one has been arrested in the killing.
“Since . . . the day this case was last set for trial, a material witness has been murdered,” said a written motion prosecutors filed in court. “This has hampered the people’s efforts to bring the defendants to trial. In addition, a material witness for the state is currently unavailable and the state will be prejudiced by the absence of his testimony.”
Court records show that DeSantis, whom prosecutors considered a reluctant witness, left his residence in Arizona on April 9 and failed to return. He had quit his job several months before, and co-workers told investigators they had not seen him since, records said. His mother and sister also told investigators that by mid-April they had not seen him for weeks, records showed.
Defense attorney Joseph Lopez, who is representing Jasas, said DeSantis gave police a written statement implicating the three defendants, but when he was taken before a Cook County grand jury, he invoked the 5th Amendment and said nothing.
Prosecutors also have had to reset the trial date because Lenard Clark, now 15, who suffered a brain injury in the beating, was not feeling well. Prosecutors said his health remains “a potential issue.”
