Guilty in 'Swiss Cheese' Baby Murder Case: Court Supervision

By Joseph Hosey

Attorney Joseph "Shark" Lopez said murder case against Plainfield man Santos Loza was "like a piece of Swiss cheese."

"When you open it up," Lopez said, "it's got a million holes in it."

But all those holes Lopez saw didn't stop the jury from coming back after a two-hour deliberation to find Loza guilty of murdering his girlfriend's 8-month-old baby.

Loza faces up to 100 years in prison when he is sentenced.

Here's what else was going on in court last week:

• Joliet teen Sjolante Crowder's murder trial began and lasted through the week.
• Veteran weekly newspaperman John Gabriel, who faces a federal child pornography case, had his bond hearing begin Monday and conclude Wednesday. And then he went back to jail without a bond.
• A woman's Romeoville pedicure caused her so much "pain and suffering" she needs at least $100,000, according to a lawsuit filed in Will County court. The lawsuit names Leza Nail Spa and its owner, Vincent C. Le, as defendants.
• When the police raided a Romeoville man's house looking for child pornography, officers found a boy-sized mannequin in his bed dressed inSonic the Hedgehog pajamas, a prosecutor said during his bond hearing. The police also reportedly located a cache of child pornography in the bedroom of 26-year-old Richard Gilsdorf and a bag containing Vaseline, bagged candy, Benadryl, child-sized "soiled underwear" and a "sexual device," said Assistant State's Attorney Mary Fillipitch.
• Joliet man Francis Zabala, 52, "lost it" and beat to death a "severely mentally impaired" relative who urinated on the floor and did not adequately clean up after himself, a prosecutor said.
• Romeoville Trustee Kenneth Carl Griffin, 65, was sentenced to a year of court supervision for driving with a revoked license.