Judge Samuel Cappas sentenced a Chicago man this week to 25 years for allegedly using his baby as a human shield during an unrelated police standoff, according to a release.
Marquis “Smiley” Falls, 40, was sentenced June 3 after a jury convicted him of criminal confinement, a Level 2 felony, neglect of a dependent, a Level 6 felony and resisting law enforcement, a misdemeanor.
Gary Police and a SWAT team went to a Calumet Township trailer park in August 2021 looking for Orlando Burgos — a suspect in a neighbor’s brutal beating.
The woman, Sheri Richardson, soon died.
While there, in the 6000 block of W. 36th Avenue, officers went to the trailer Burgos rented, looking for him. He wasn’t there. Instead, Marquis “Smiley” Falls emerged holding his 10-month-old daughter facing forward.
Deputy Prosecutors Milana Petersen and Brad Carter alleged he used the child as a “human shield.”
At trial, defense lawyer Bob Varga refuted the accusation, noting there was no bodycam footage of the incident.
Post-Tribune archives contributed; mcolias@post-trib.com
