Court Watch: Accused Woodridge Carjacker on the Run, Police Say

The case of a Coal City man accused of a "thrill" carjacking in Woodridge in May returns to court Tuesday, but it might happen without the man charged in attendance.

A warrant for Michael Buhrman was issued in September after his GPS monitor sent a tampering alert to authorities. Police in Coal City did not find him at his home and Buhrman has not been seen since.

A judge has forfeited Buhrman's $200,000 bail and could set the case for trial. Police arrested Buhrman, a former engineer at the Dresden Nuclear Power Plant in Morris, after he allegedly wore a mask and pointed a gun at a woman sitting inside a car on May 9.

Prosecutors unsuccessfully sought to increase Buhrman's bail to $1 million over the summer after a woman reported Buhrman made comments about buying gold and fleeing to Chile.

Patch recaps some of the tops cases from DuPage County Court this week.

Lisle

A second man charged in a July 7-Eleven robbery has pleaded guilty for his part in the incident, records show.

Antonio Finley, 21, pleaded guilty to a robbery charge and was sentenced to six years in prison as part of a deal with prosecutors, who dropped several other counts against Finley. He was given credit for four months in DuPage County Jail and received a recommendation of a prison boot camp, which could shorten his prison time.

In October, 17-year-old Steven Gayden was sentenced to four years in prison in connection to the robbery. He also was given a boot camp recommendation. Two other men - DeShaun Wilson and Antwan James - have related cases that are pending.

Naperville

A Naperville man will be evaluated once again to determine whether he is fit to stand trial on an attempted murder charge. Alexander Georg, who prosecutors say tried to strangle and stab his mother in August 2011, has "declining" mental health and refused to take his medications, his attorney wrote in court documents.

Georg previously was held by the Illinois Department of Human Services after initially being found unfit to understand and participate in his case. Fitness restored, the case resumed earlier this year, but Georg's refusal to take the medications delayed a psychological report ordered by the judge overseeing the case. A new fitness evaluation will be the subject of a Dec. 11 hearing, records show.

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On the Docket Next Week

Dec. 4: Buhrman's carjacking case is scheduled for a hearing, but he's likely not to be there.

Dec. 5: Yashesh Desai's, accused of killing his father with a weed-wacker, is scheduled to return to court. He's been restored to fitness to allow the case to proceed, but a report is outstanding on a recent psychological evaluation.

Dec. 7: Joseph Spitalli, charged with murdering his ex-girlfriend's new love interest and then kidnapping her, is scheduled for a hearing.