Man Accused Of Hiding Antioch Woman's Body Picked Up By ICE

LAKE COUNTY, IL — A 52-year-old Waukegan man accused of hiding the body of an Antioch woman for weeks before police found it in an outdoor garbage can at his home has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Jose Mendoza-Gonzelez was picked up by ICE agents in Chicago on Saturday, according to a U.S. Homeland Security press release. Mendoza-Gonzalez is accused of hiding the body of Megan Bos, 37, who was initially reported missing in February.

Bos' body was later found in a garbage can behind Mendoza-Gonzalez's home in Waukegan in April.

Mendoza-Gonzalez was charged in Lake County Circuit Court with abuse of a corpse, obstructing justice and concealing a death. Prior to being picked up by ICE over the weekend, Mendoza-Gonzalez has been free from jail since the charges filed in Lake County do not qualify for pre-trail detainment under the state's SAFE-T Act.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for Homeland Security, said in a statement "it is absolutely repulsive that a judge freed this monster and allowed him to walk free on Illinois’s streets after allegedly committing such a heinous crime."

Mendoza-Gonzalez is now being held at the Lake County Jail as he awaits possible deportation. On Sunday, the Lake County State's Attorney's Office said they "believe that a criminal trial and sentencing is more appropriate than deportation proceedings," according to the Daily Herald.

“The defendant is charged with several felonies, which can result in potential consecutive prison sentences upon a conviction,” the statement reads. “As people know, deportation to another country does not lead to prison in that country. If he were to agree to deportation, he could be free in days.”