A Romeoville woman who attacked her grandmother after she attempted to intervene in a fight between the woman and another family member was arrested Saturday, Romeoville police said.

Rachelle R. Parreno, 30, 604 Sherwood, was charged with aggravated battery of a senior in connection with the incident that occurred at her home at about 5 p.m., Assistant Police Chief Steve Lucchesi said.

Parreno was fighting with a relative over an unknown topic when the 70-year-old grandmother stepped in between the two in an effort to calm the situation, Lucchesi said.

It apparently had the opposite effect, with Parreno allegedly pulling the older woman's hair and kicking her, he said.

Parreno was taken into custody Saturday night and taken to the Will County jail. She is currently free after posting $500 bail, jail records show.

The victim's injuries did not require hospitalization, Lucchesi said.

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A 34-year-old Shorewood woman was extricated from her car Tuesday morning after another driver cut her off on Interstate 55, causing her to lose control and roll into a ditch, Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Martez Malone said.

The accident occurred at about 8:30 a.m. on northbound I-55 between Weber Road and Route 53, near Romeoville, Malone said.

Although he did not know how many times the vehicle may have rolled, the damage was extensive enough to trap the victim inside, he said. The woman, whose identity was not released, was in serious condition and transported to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, which is the closest Level 1 trauma center.

No information was available on the suspect who caused the accident, other than he was driving a tan car, Malone said.

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Two women working as prostitutes out of a Joliet motel were arrested by an undercover Joliet police officer Tuesday night, police said.

Versie L. Ridley, 19, of Chicago, and Tiana M. Reed-Morrow, 31, of Calumet Park, were taken into custody after the officer arranged to meet them at the Super 8 motel, 1730 McDonough St., and one of them agreed to provide him with straight sex in exhange for $100, Cmdr. Rich Demick said.

Police were alerted to the situation by a suspicious ad placed in backpage.com that sounded like it could be a sex trade operation, Demick said.

It's not known how long the women were working at the motel or why they chose Joliet as their location, other than "Joliet's a pretty good-size town and it's kind of easy to get lost here," whereas they would be more conspicuous in a smaller town, he said.

Ridley and Reed-Morrow were charged with prostitution and possession of less than 2.5 grams of cannabis. They were released on a signature bond and are due in court on Feb. 28.

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For the third time in as many weeks, police and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents busted an alleged local marijuana-dealing operation, this time in Joliet.

Plainfield police arrested Randy Mota, 28, and Nicole Mota, 26, following a raid at their home at the 6512 Roth Drive.

Plainfield Sgt. Mike Fisher said a Plainfield officer who works with the Chicago branch of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency helped uncover the operation. No additional details on the raid were available Tuesday night, but Fisher said Plainfield police plan to issue a press release Wednesday.

The Joliet Police Department participated in the raid, but served only as backup for the DEA and Plainfield police, Joliet Cmdr. Rich Demick said. Because it was not a Joliet case, Demick declined to discuss the specifics of the case.

Randy Mota is charged with producing 50 to 200 cannabis plants, manufacture/delivery of 500 to 2,000 grams of cannabis, possession of 2,000 to 5,000 grams of cannabis and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, according to jail records.

Nicole Mota is charged with possession of 30 to 500 grams of cannabis.

Both were being held at the Will County jail Tuesday and were due in court Wednesday afternoon.

Third local pot bust

The Tuesday morning raid came two weeks after another pair of marijuana busts.

On Jan. 29, Plainfield police and DEA agents seized nearly 120 marijuana plants, some as big as four feet tall, plus 65 pounds of loose marijuana and dozens of ecstasy pills from a home at 12914 Tipperary Lane.

Quy Doan, 30, of Romeoville, was arrested and charged with numerous felonies in connection with what police called a “million-dollar operation.”

READ:

• Police on Massive Plainfield Marijuana Grow Operation: 'He Had to Have Help'
• Police Raid Plainfield Marijuana-Growing Operation

That same day, the Will County Gang Suppression Unit arrested brothers Oudam Thou, 26, and Robert Thou, 22, following a search of their home in the 1900 block of Hampton Court in Plainfield Township.

Police seized thousands of grams of cannabis and synthetic cannabis in the raid, along with two semi-automatic weapons.

READ:Gang Unit Seizes Guns, Drugs from Plainfield Township Home

Plainfield police said there was no indication that the Tipperary Lane grow house was connected to the Hampton Court case.

In another marijuana-related incident — which police said was unrelated to the larger pot-dealing operations — a man was arrested after being caught with pot and a handgun on the same street as the grow house.

The man, who shares a last name with the Joliet suspects, was arrested Feb. 3 after a neighbor called police about a suspicious vehicle on Tipperary Lane.

Police said Erik Mota, 30, of Chicago, was in the backseat of  a Chevy Tahoe with a woman who lived in the neighborhood. A search of the vehicle turned up a canister of marijuana and a Glock handgun, according to police.

Mota was charged with manufacture/delivery of 30 to 500 grams of cannabis and unlawful possession of a handgun. Though he tried to blame the woman, saying the handgun was hers, she was released without charges, police said.

READ: Plainfield Police Bust Backseat Couple with Pot, Handgun

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Are you blessed with insight and good humor? Or just bored today? Share your wit with your neighbors by entering Patch's comic caption challenge. Just add your dialogue for today's comic in the comment section of this post. Our only requirement is that you keep it clean!

At week's end, we'll pick the winning punchline based on how many of us here at Patch giggle and smile at your contribution. The user who produces the winning punchline will get a personalized proof of the comic, with the winning words and a credit line, from cartoonist Chuck Ingwersen and Patch.

Congratulations to Alex Bradley, who provided the winning punchline to last week's Snowman cartoon:

So this is what happens when you take Frosty's Hat.

Valentine’s Day 2013 is upon us. Check out these fun facts from the U.S. Census. 

CANDY

1,177

Manufacturing establishments that produced chocolate and cocoa products in 2009, employing 34,252 people.

$12.6 billion

Total value of shipments in 2009 for firms producing chocolate and cocoa products. Nonchocolate confectionery product manufacturing, meanwhile, was a $7.4 billion industry.

3,386

Number of confectionery and nut stores in the United States in 2009.

24.7 pounds

Per capita consumption of candy by Americans in 2010.

FLOWERS

$375 million

The combined wholesale value of domestically produced cut flowers in 2010 for all flower-producing operations with $100,000 or more in sales. Among states, California was the leading producer, alone accounting for more than three-quarters of this amount ($286 million).

$17 million

The combined wholesale value of domestically produced cut roses in 2010 for all operations with $100,000 or more in sales.

17,124

The number of florists nationwide in 2009. These businesses employed 75,855 people.

A tip from a Plainfield police officer led to a drug raid that netted 71 cannabis plants, 18 pounds of loose marijuana, four handguns and a rifle, police said Wednesday.

Husband and wife Randy, 28, and Nicole Mota, 26, were arrested following a search of their home at 6512 Roth Drive in Joliet.

Read: 2 Arrested in Drug House Raid 

The raid was conducted by Plainfield police and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents, acting on a tip from a Plainfield officer assigned to the DEA’s Chicago branch, Plainfield Sgt. Mike Fisher said.

According to Fisher, the raid began in the early morning hours Tuesday and was aided by the Plainfield police department’s K-9, Aron. Joliet police also assisted with the search.

Randy Mota is charged with producing 50 to 200 cannabis plants, manufacture/delivery of 500 to 2,000 grams of cannabis, possession of 2,000 to 5,000 grams of cannabis and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, according to jail records. His bond was set at $50,000.

Nicole Mota is charged with possession of 30 to 500 grams of cannabis. Her bond was set at $10,000.

The couple’s arrest comes just more than a week after Randy Mota’s brother, Erik Mota, was arrested down the street from another Plainfield grow house.

Erik Mota, 30, of Chicago, was arrested Feb. 3 after officers responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle on Tipperary Lane in Plainfield’s King’s Crossing neighborhood. He and a woman were inside a Chevy Tahoe parked down the street from the alleged grow house, and officers who approached the vehicle smelled marijuana, Fisher said. A search of the Tahoe yielded 101 grams of cannabis and a Glock handgun, according to police.

Erik Mota was arrested and charged with manufacture/delivery of 30-500 grams of cannabis and unlawful possession of a handgun. The woman, a resident of Tipperary Lane, was released without charges.

Fisher said residents were especially watchful after police and DEA agents raided a home at 12914 Tipperary Ln. on Jan. 29.

In that incident, police and agents seized “thousands upon thousands of dollars” worth of grow house equipment.

Quy Doan, 30, a Romeoville resident, was arrested and charged with several felonies in what police said was a multi-million-dollar grow operation.

According to Fisher, Erik Mota told police he was unaware of the Tipperary Lane grow house.

Fisher said police are looking into a possible connection between the two marijuana-growing operations.

“It’s still an ongoing investigation,” he said. 

Fisher credited the officer assigned to the DEA unit with making both busts happen.

“[It’s a] fantastic job he’s been doing lately,” Fisher said of the Plainfield officer, who did not want to be identified in the press.

“He didn’t want credit,” Fisher said. “It’s just what he does — he doesn’t want the limelight.”

READ:

• Police on Massive Plainfield Marijuana Grow Operation: 'He Had to Have Help'
• Police Raid Plainfield Marijuana-Growing Operation
• Gang Unit Seizes Guns, Drugs from Plainfield Township Home

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The man who won the Drew Peterson case wants no part of taking the witness stand at a hearing next week to decide whether the convicted wife-killer should get a new murder trial.

Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow filed court papers asking Judge Edward Burmila to bar Peterson's lawyers from calling him as a witness.

The motion says Peterson's lawyers revealed their plans to call Glasgow as a witness nearly two weeks ago, but that the state's attorney should not have to testify.

"A prosecutor, judge or news reporter is a 'special witness,'" the motion says. And if Peterson's lawyers want to get any of those kind of people on the stand, they must disclose what the witness is expected to say, why the testimony would be relevant, and what efforts they made to get the information from another source.

"In the case at hand, the defense has not satisfied a single one of those requirements," the motion says.

The hearing to determine whether Peterson, a disgraced former Bolingbrook cop, gets a new trial is slated to start Tuesday and may last days. Peterson's attorneys claim that former Peterson attorney Joel Brodsky's poor performance during the trial, as well as a publicity contract he entered into with Peterson long before the trial began, justify starting over with the case.

Peterson was found guilty of murdering his third wife, Kathleen Savio, in September after a five-week trial. The police also suspect Peterson had a hand in the October 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, but have yet to charge him with harming her.

Besides filing a motion in hopes of staying off the witness stand, Glasgow also submitted an objection to the arguments for a new trial. That filing claims Peterson and his attorneys are now directly contradicting statements they made prior to the guilty verdict.

On the same day as Peterson's hearing for a new trial, a judge will address the wrongful death case filed against him in 2009.

The lawsuit was brought by Savio's father and sister. Brodsky had been representing Peterson in the civil matter but bailed after the murder trial was lost.

When he quit the case in December, Brodsky filed a bizarre, rambling motion to withdraw. Brodsky devoted much of the motion to attacking attorney Steve Greenberg, whom he claims "suffers from a severe mental illness."

Greenberg also represented Peterson during the murder trial and remains on the case. He was not involved in the wrongful death lawsuit.

During a hearing for the wrongful death case Wednesday morning, Judge Michael Powers scheduled the matter to coincide with Tuesday's proceedings and ordered both Peterson and Brodsky to be present. Brodsky likely would have been there anyway, as he is expected to testify at the hearing for a new trial.

A lawsuit seeking to exempt the Catholic Diocese of Joliet and others from having to comply with a federal law mandating that its employee health insurance cover contraception and sterilization costs has been rejected by a federal judge.

The diocese, which was joined in the suit by the Diocese of Springfield and Catholic Charities in Chicago, Joliet and Springfield, argued that the mandate violated the organizations' 1st Amendment rights guaranteeing religious freedom.

According to a story published by the Catholic Conference of Illlinois, U.S. Judge John Darrow's ruling rejected the organizations' arguments.

"Darrah stated the plaintiffs have no standing since religious organizations have been granted a 'safe harbor' until Aug. 1, 2013 to implement the required insurance coverage,"the story said.

"He also stated that the lawsuit is not ripe for adjudication since the plaintiffs have not yet suffered any harm from the mandate."

A Joliet man facing up to 15 years in prison for beating his young stepdaughter got almost the maximum, with the judge giving him 14 years behind bars.

Richard Harris, 35, had pleaded guilty last week to a charge of aggravated battery to a child. He also told Judge Sarah Jones he was "sorry."

Harris was arrested in February 2011. He allegedly beat his 2-year-old stepdaughter.

Harris will have to serve at least 85 percent of the 14 years.

Judge Jones will entertain a motion to reconsider her sentence on Feb. 26.

This article was submitted by the Romeoville Humane Society:

Meet Black Jack, an affectionate and handsome 1-year-old male shorthair cat:

What a beautiful young cat I am - sleek and shiny with a easy-care coat that doesn't shed much. I am a bit of a shy boy at times, but am super affectionate and love to rub all over you once I trust you. I will come when called, as I know if you are calling me you are going to pet me so I come a'runnin! Sudden movements sometimes scare me and I may run and hide if I'm startled. I am okay with other social cats but am still scared around dogs. Playtime is great, I will entertain myself if you leave toys out or will play with you if you engage me.  I just need a family to open their home to me and show me some love and patience so I can trust them and let my wonderful and loving personality shine through. What a great addition I will make and a loving companion.

Black Jack’s adoption fee is $125 which includes his neuter, distemper and rabies vaccinations, FIV/Felv/Heartworm & fecal tests, microchipping and registration. Contact the Romeoville Humane Society by email at romeovillehumanesociety@yahoo.com or phone (877) 813-7300 for more information on Black Jack or to set an appointment to meet him. 

Joliet Junior College submitted this article. Carrie Worthington is a Romeoville resident:

Carrie Worthington was honored as the recipient of the Joliet Junior College J. D. Ross Extraordinary Service Award (ESA) at the Feb. 5 Board of Trustees meeting.  

The J. D. Ross ESA is the highest honor bestowed by JJC; it was developed by the Board of Trustees to honor community members who have given outstanding service to Community College District 525.  

Nominated by fellow district resident Robert Talkie for distinguished public service, Worthington, of Romeoville, has been a tireless advocate and volunteer for five years for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), serving the last two years as president of the grassroots Will-Grundy chapter.  

“Ms. Worthington has dedicated her life as a leader in promoting mental health awareness in Will-Grundy County,” said Amy Murphy, ESA board member.

“During the last several years, she has facilitated a program designed to educate the public with a workshop designed to raise public awareness in mental health issues, and educate individuals to become mental health first responders.

“Carrie Worthington exemplifies what the J.D. Ross ESA is all about, and we were delighted to honor her with this award.”  

Since joining NAMI, Worthington has heightened awareness of the ongoing and often urgent need for programs and services for individuals diagnosed with mental illnesses or mental health conditions in the area. During this time, the requests for service have more than doubled.  

"I am so honored to have received this award,” said Worthington. “I'm hoping I can keep moving forward to help fight against the stigma of mental illness and keep promoting all the programs NAMI has to offer." 

Additionally, Worthington initiated and implemented in Joliet the nationally-renowned course, Mental Health First Aid USA, which is now repeated four to five times yearly in the Will-Grundy service region and certifies and equips students to prevent major mental health crises from occurring, including suicide prevention.

Her service in the community also extends to her church, Good Shepherd, which involves helping to operate a food pantry and assesses and assists with other recognized needs in the area.

For more information and a list of past recipients, visit www.jjc.edu/info/esa.

Zachary Joseph Johnson, 23, 131 S. Highpoint, Romeoville, arrested by the Will County Sheriff's Office and booked into the Will County jail on Feb. 13 on charges of obstructing identification, operating an unisured motor vehicle, driving 15 to 20 mph above the limit, failure to notify the Secretary of State's office of an address/name change and no registration light and on a hold for Cook County.

Pablo Cruz, 41, 201 Linden, Romeoville, arrested by the Romeoville Police Department and booked into the Will County jail on Feb. 12 on a charge of driving while license suspended/revoked.

Edward Trinidad, 18, 320 Haller, Romeoville, arrested by the Romeoville Police Department at about 10 p.m. Jan. 26 in the 400 block of Weber Road and charged with retail theft.

Steven Hanuska, 30, 285 E. First St., Braidwood, arrested by the Romeoville Police Department at about 2:30 a.m. Jan. 26 at Route 53 and Joliet Road and charged with possession of cannabis, possession of drug paraphernalia and no registration light.

Rachel Hejka, 20, 1901 Arbor Fields Drive, Plainfield, arrested by the Romeoville Police Department at about 2:05 p.m. Jan. 28 in the 300 block of South Weber Road and charged with retail theft.

Renato Murillo, 33, 1005 N. Broadway, Joliet, arrested by the Romeoville Police Department at about 7:20 p.m. Jan. 30 at Dalhart Avenue and Corona and charged with speeding, no insurance and no driver's license.

Eric N. Lazaro, 20, 1620 Daylily Drive, Romeoville, arrested by the Romeoville Police Department at about 6:20 p.m. Jan. 31 at Normantown Road and Center Boulevard and charged with no driver's license, no insurance and illegal transportation of alcohol.

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A four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom, single-family house at 12161 White Oak Dr., Plainfield, recently sold for $236,000.

The home's kitchen has granite counters, stainless steel appliances, a five-burner stove, an island and tile back splash. The home has hardwood floors throughout most of the first floor, and the updated half-bath has a granite counter and a tile floor. The home also has second-floor laundry facilities and a finished basement.

These other properties recently sold, according to public property records.

Bolingbrook

• 425 Monet Cir. 425: $85,000

Plainfield

• 14004 S. Weller Dr.: $276,065
  
• 14008 S. Weller Dr.: $257,039
• 14023 S. Weller Dr.: $246,705
• 12161 White Oak Dr.: $236,000
• 13412 Redberry Cir.: $158,000
• 2202 Timber Trl.: $198,000
• 24334 Blazing Star Ct.: $313,000
• 25066 Thornberry Dr.: $444,000
• 4506 Northmont Dr.: $160,500
• 13829 Meadow Ln.: $260,000

Romeoville

• 639 Superior Dr.: $195,000
  
• 1620 Amaryllis Dr.: $152,000

About this column: Each week, Sold! highlights a bit of information about a recent home sale to offer some perspective on the housing market. Looking to buy, sell or rent a property? Consult the Bolingbrook, Plainfield and Romeoville Patch Real Estate Directories.

Last month, two women were found dead in a car that authorities believe jumped the barrier of the Harlem Avenue bridge in Lyons and plummeted 50 feet to the ground, according to the Bolingbrook Reporter. 

Now, the woman believed to have been driving the car at the time of the accident has been charged. 

Michelle Miranda, 37, of Berwyn, and Sandra Frankum, 36, of Bolingbrook were both found dead in the overturned car Jan. 26, according to the Bolingbrook Reporter.

The accident is believed to have occurred at 2 a.m. Police said there were no witnesses and no one called 911 about the accident until ten hours later, when a truck driver reported a car on its roof below the bridge. 

At 7 a.m. Jan. 26, Illinois State Police picked up Lisa Elner, 34, who was reportedly in shock and possibly suffering from frostbite. She was transported to an area hospital for treatment. Police believe Elner was driving the car and failed to report the accident. 

On Feb. 8, Elner turned herself in. She has been charged with two counts of failure to report an accident involving death, two counts of aggravated driving under the influence involving death, possession of a controlled substance (cocaine) and other traffic charges, according to the Bolingbrook Reporter. 

Read more about the Lyons accident that left both a Berwyn and Bolingbrook woman dead. 

Despite the appearance of nepotism, Will County Executive Larry Walsh has nominated his son to fill the open Will County regional superintendent of schools position.

The nomination was presented at the Will County Board's executive committee meeting Thursday and will be discussed and voted upon at the Feb. 21 county board meeting, according to a story in the Joliet Herald News.

Shawn Walsh, currently the county's assistant regional superintendent of schools, was the only qualified person to apply for the opening, created when Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, a Shorewood Democrat who was elected to the 49th District Senate seat, Nick Palmer, Larry Walsh’s chief of staff, told the newspaper. A second candidate did not meet the qualifications, he said.

Larry Walsh told the Herald News that people should not have been afraid to apply for the job just because his son was a candidate, and if a "far superior" applicant emerged, he would have been chosen.

“I’m very, very proud of my son,” Walsh told the paper. “He’s always wanted to be involved in education and he planned his whole future on that.”

Walsh, a former state senator, took similar flack last year when another son, Larry Walsh Jr., was tapped to replace state Rep. Jack McGuire, who won the primary election and shortly thereafter decided to step down from the post. Walsh Jr. was elected to the seat in November.

At least one group is criticizing Larry Walsh Sr.'s actions. Americans for Prosperity-Illinois issued a press release Thursday urging the county board to reject the nomination.

“Unfortunately, Will County politicians seem to be vying for the top position when it comes to putting personal and family interests ahead of those of the taxpayers they were elected to serve,” AFP Illinois State Director David From wrote in the release.

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Two suspects wanted in a gas station fight in which a man was shot and possibly paralyzed are in police custody, Joliet Police Cmdr. Brian Benton said today.

Anthony White, 24, of Joliet, who is believed to be the triggerman in the Feb. 9 incident, was picked up in South Bend, Ind., by the St. Joseph County Police Department. He is being held on a Joliet arrest warrant for attempted murder and is to be extradited back to the city, Benton said.

His cohort, Gregory Sellers, 24, was arrested Wednesday morning at his 112 Bowen Place home after he failed to turn himself in to Joliet police as arranged by his lawyer, he said. Sellers is charged with aggravated battery and mob action.

The charges stem from an argument that started at about 3 a.m. at the Citgo station at 379 S. Chicago St. The incident was caught on videotape, which police used it to identify White and Sellers as the two instigators, Benton said.

While he wouldn't disclose what the fight was about, Benton did say it drew a large crowd of mostly men, many of whom they've been able to track down as possible witnesses.

The victim, whose identity has not been revealed, remains hospitalized at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.

Police issued arrest warrants for White and Sellers last week and put out a public request for help in locating the two suspects. The actions prompted Sellers to contact a lawyer, who got in touch with the police, Benton said.

Although they made arrangements for Sellers to turn himself in, he failed to arrive at the designated time. Officers took him into custody later at his home, Benton said.

Sellers is being held in the Will County jail in lieu of $500,000 bond. White's bond is $2 million.

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A month ago, the city of Joliet bore witness to a crime so gruesome that the Joliet Police Chief called it the worst thing he had seen in his career.

"I think you need to know this is one of the most brutal, heinous, really upsetting things that (I've seen) in 27 years of law enforcement," local police chief Mike Trafton said in a story on Jan. 12.

Eric Glover and Terrance Rankins were killed in January. Four people were arrested and indicted in the killings.

For the families of Glover and Rankins, the tragedy of losing a loved one to senseless violence in a gruesome crime was only the begining of a struggle. Mourning a loved one is bad enough. Being unable to pay for his funeral is even worse.

Yet that is exactly what the families faced when they tried to bury their sons.

“Nobody really sets aside money for that,” Yvette Kincer said.

Kincer co-owns Images Salon in Joliet and she took news of the tragedy and struggle to heart.

"I think it's a tragic loss in the community in general," Kincer said. "I think we as a community need to step up and help the community.”

Beginning at 10 a.m. Feb. 24, the stylists at Images Salon in Joliet will be busy cutting hair with the goal of helping the families of Glover and Rankins.

"I can't even fathom what happened,” Kincer said.

Kincer owns Images Salon with her husband Buddy. She said the salon has a personal link to the tragedy. The woman who works the front desk at the salon was friends with Eric Glover, who was teammates with her boyfriend on the Illinois Gators football team.

"All of the (teammates) are just devastated," Kincer said. "A lot of the guys got Eric's helmet number tattooed on their arms."

Through her employee, Kincer learned that both the Glover and Rankins families struggled to pay for funeral services and related costs for the boys and she wanted to do something to help.

"I would love to help the families raise as much money as possible," she said.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Feb. 24, 15 stylists will be on hand to cut hair. Adult cuts are $15 and children are $10, with 100 percent of the money earned going to the families. Appointments are suggested by calling 815-436-4033. Walk-ins are also welcome.

Get news where you live. Sign up for the Joliet, Channahon-Minooka, Romeoville or Shorewood newsletters.

Editor's Note: An incorrect date was included in the original article. Patch regrets the error.

An arena football player claiming he suffered an injury while practicing at Megaplex in Homer Glen is suing the fitness facility for allegedly failing to keep its artificial turf affixed to the floor.

Lawrence Goffer was practicing with the Chicago Slaughter in February 2011 when the "turf below his foot gave way" and he got hurt, according to the lawsuit filed at the Will County Courthouse.

Goffer, a defensive back and wide receiver, was planting his foot when the turf came loose, the lawsuit said.

Slaughter coach—and Romeoville mayoral hopeful—Steve "Mongo" McMichael remembered the day of Goffer's injury.

"He blew out his knee out and we lost him for the season," said McMichael, a two-time All-Pro and starter on the 1985 Super Bowl Champion Bears.

McMichael said Goffer suffered the injury during the team's first weekend of practice prior to the 2011 season. And McMichael figured the blown-out knee spelled the end of Goffer's playing days.

"Oh yeah, it was bad," said McMichael, recalling how Goffer's knee was "separated at the joint."

The Chicago Slaughter play their home games at Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates. McMichaels' Bears teammate, quarterback Jim McMahon, owns the team.

The lawsuit claims Goffer's injuries are permanent. Goffer's attorney, Timothy Rhatigan of Chicago, failed to return calls for comment.

Get all the courthouse news on our Facebook page

Vanessa M. Martinez, 26, 6017 W. Ogden, Cicero, arrested by the Romeoville Police Department and booked into the Will County jail on Feb. 14 on two counts of battery.

Lorelei Schlueter, 20, 317 Fieldstone Court, Bolingbrook, arrested by the Romeoville Police Department at about 3:35 p.m. Jan. 1 at Weber and Normantown roads and charged with driving while license suspended and driving too fast for conditions.

Noe Lopez, 28, 111 Bernice, Bensenville, arrested by the Romeoville Police Department at about 2:40 p.m. Feb. 1 at Route 53 and Chambers Drive and charged with no driver's license, no insurance and driving too fast for conditions.

Melinda Dalan, 51, 807 Schock Drive, Joliet, arrested by the Romeoville Police Department at about 4:50 p.m. Feb. 1 in the 300 block of South Weber Road and charged with retail theft.

Ruth Matchette-Tucker, 51, 717 Dexter, Romeoville, arrested by the Romeoville Police Department at about 8:20 p.m. Feb. 1 in the 700 block of Dexter and charged with disorderly conduct (making false 911 calls).

Alexis Kelly, 28, 15046 Lewis Drive, Lockport, arrested by the Romeoville Police Department at about 9:30 a.m. Feb. 2 at Route 53 and Taylor Road and charged with no insurance, no driver's license, speeding and expired registration.

Therese Marino, 39, 728 Delta, Romeoville, arrested by the Romeoville Police Department at about 5:30 p.m. Feb. 3 in the 0 to 100 block of Alexander Drive and charged with battery.

Amanda Fitzgerald, 20, 521 Blackhawk St., Joliet, arrested by the Romeoville Police Department at about 6:20 a.m. Feb. 5 at Dalhart Avenue and Corona and charged with no driver's license and speeding.

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