COVID delays potential plea deal in cases involving brutal series of Decatur home invasions herald-review.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from herald-review.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
DECATUR â A prosecutor portrayed Jarquez A. Hobbs as a sexual predator who snatched a 5-year-old Decatur girl from her bed, raped her, and then left after kissing the sobbing child on the cheek and telling her âshe was no good to him anymore.â
The jury trial of Hobbs, 24, got underway Tuesday in Macon County Circuit Court. He is pleading not guilty to three counts of predatory criminal sexual assault and a charge of home invasion.
Special prosecutor Kate Kurtz told jurors Hobbs was familiar with the layout of the apartment house on East Condit Street where the girl lived with her mother, the motherâs boyfriend and several other children. Kurtz said he knew where to find the girl after opening a window to unlock a door and slipping inside the childâs apartment around 5 a.m. on Aug. 5, 2019.
Timothy W. Smith
Timothy W. Smith pleaded not guilty April 1 to two charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving a girl under the age of 15 and a charge of domestic battery involving physical contact against the same victim.
Bryan C. McGee
Bryan C. McGee was sentenced to 18 months in prison for possession of a stolen handgun after accepting a plea deal. A judge dismissed one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.Â
Justin D. Tate
Police say Justin D. Tate picked up a runaway 14-year-old girl and force-fed her methamphetamine before making her perform sex acts and then raping her. He was arrested March 24.