Criminal Damage
Naperville man gets 90 days for throwing egg at DuPage judge
A Naperville man's errant egg toss at a DuPage County judge netted him a 90-day jail sentence.
Agim Demiri was sentenced Monday for the March 24 attack on DuPage Judge Timothy J. McJoynt. The judge wasn't struck by the egg, but the mess caused $616.78 worth of damage in McJoynt's courtroom, prosecutors said. Demiri also was ordered to pay restitution for the cleanup.
He pleaded guilty to a felony count of aggravated criminal damage to state-supported property in August.
The 40-year-old Demiri had appeared before McJoynt numerous times before as part of an ongoing child support issue. He is currently more than $7,600 behind in payments to the mother of his two teenage children, prosecutors said. The children live in California.
Demiri narrowly missed striking McJoynt with the egg. Instead, it splattered against a decorative state seal plaque mounted behind the judge's chair, officials said. Another egg was found when Demiri was arrested.
Authorities said the splattered egg also damaged other furnishings.
At Monday's hearing, Demiri explained he was upset about not seeing his children and his driver's license had been suspended for not making payments to their mother. He complained that not having a driver's license made it harder for him to find work to pay the child support.
Judge Blanche Hill Fawell found his excuse ironic.
"You understand that it's going to be harder for you to find work now that you're a convicted felon," she said as she sentenced Demiri.
Assistant State's Attorney Audriana Anderson told Fawell that Demiri had shown no remorse for his actions and later brought a box cutter to McJoynt's courtroom. A sheriff's deputy testified he found the box cutter during a search of Demiri that was mandated following the egg incident.
Demiri was never charged with any crime for bringing the box cutter to the courtroom. He told Fawell he had apologized to McJoynt for the egg incident as well. McJoynt did not pursue a battery complaint against Demiri.
Demiri only has to serve half his jail sentence. With 15 days credit for time he already has spent behind bars in connection with the case, he could be out in 30 days, officials said.
Upon his release, he will be placed on probation for two years and has to submit to DNA indexing as well, the judge ordered.
Anderson sought to have his previous bond funds put toward his child support debt, but Fawell said that was out of her jurisdiction.
(Published by Daily Herald – September 21, 2010)