Man Wanted For Skipping Out On Jury Verdict In Lake County Trial

WAUKEGAN, IL — Authorities have issued a warrant for a Lake County man who failed to show up to court to hear the verdict in his trial.

Giovanni Smith, 33, of North Chicago, was convicted of armed habitual criminal and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon following a three-day jury trial last week in Waukegan, records show.

Smith attended court Tuesday and Wednesday but did not show up Thursday, according to a spokesperson for the Lake County State's Attorney's Office.

The charges stem from an arrest on the evening of July 4, 2021 in North Chicago. In that incident, a 911 caller reported seeing someone jump out of a car and chase another person down the street in North Chicago, prosecutors said.

According to evidence presented to jurors, officers dispatched to the scene found Smith, a convicted felon, and discovered a gun in the center console of the car he was driving.

Prosecutors dropped an additional charge of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon ahead of trial, according to court records.

Smith's history of felony convictions in Lake County dates back more than 15 years, his first having come resulted from narcotics possession charges in 2006.

Most recently, Smith was convicted of unlawful restraint in 2019 and sentenced to two and a half years in state prison. Lake County prosecutors dropped two counts of domestic battery and one of aggravated battery to a pregnant woman in that case, records show.

On his recent gun possession case, a judge initially ordered Smith jailed ahead of trial unless he could afford to post the $10,000 cash portion of his bond.

Ten days after his arrest, a judge cut the cash portion of the bond in half and Smith was able to post $5,000 to secure his release. Prosecutors said they objected to the bond reduction.

Smith, who is now wanted on a no-bail warrant, is due to be sentenced Sept. 1.

He faces a minimum of six years in prison for the conviction for armed habitual criminal, a class X felony that makes it a more serious crime for people with past convictions for certain offenses to posses a gun without state authorization. He would have to serve 85 percent prior to being eligible for parole.

Authorities asked anyone who sees him to contact 911 rather than trying to apprehend him.

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