Vanessa Pratt
QUINCY — Chris Pratt said the difference between being a fry cook at Elder’s Restaurant or being an attorney in the Adams County Public Defender’s Office was a “culture shock.” However, he also said both positions were remarkably similar. “They’re both still in the service industry,” Pratt said during his investiture as an at-large judge…
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QUINCY — When the Illinois Supreme Court announced in October that Amy Lannerd would be assigned as a justice in the Fourth District Appellate Court, Vanessa Pratt made it a point to congratulate her. “I made a joke to her,” Vanessa said. “I was like, ‘If you’re looking for any law clerks, you know, keep…
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QUINCY — An Arkansas man serving a 20-year sentence for two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault in the Illinois Department of Corrections filed a motion last month to withdraw his guilty plea that he claims he accepted to avoid “torturous conduct by officials” in the Adams County Jail. Mario Mason, 41, of Turrell, Ark.,…
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QUINCY — After refusing last week to accept a 15-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections in exchange for guilty pleas to five burglary charges, Zachary Laffey reached a new plea deal and stunningly agreed Wednesday to guilty pleas on even more charges which could lead to a sentence of as many as 25…
Read Full Article QUINCY — A Quincy man scheduled to accept to a plea agreement Tuesday afternoon in Adams County Circuit Court changed his mind. Zachary Laffey, 28, appeared before Judge John Wooleyhan with public defender Vanessa Pratt. Todd Eyler, Adams County assistant state’s attorney, told Wooleyhan an agreement had been reached for Laffey to plead guilty to…
Read Full Article QUINCY — An Arkansas man pled guilty Friday morning in Adams County Circuit Court to two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault in exchange for a 20-year sentence to the Illinois Department of Corrections. Mario Mason, 40, of Turrell, Ark., entered his plea with his attorney, public defender Vanessa Pratt, in front of Judge Amy…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Dr. Frank Froman, a clinical psychologist from Quincy, found Mario Mason unfit for trial earlier this month. However, the Illinois Department of Human Services since has evaluated Mason and determined he is fit to stand trial. So during a status hearing Tuesday afternoon in Adams County Circuit Court, public defender Vanessa Pratt chose…
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QUINCY — Carlos Williams has been in the Adams County Jail for 29 months awaiting his trial in the 2019 murder case of Orlando Smith. However, when he was scheduled to appear in Adams County Circuit Court on Wednesday for a status hearing in front of Judge Roger Thomson, Williams wasn’t there — twice. He didn’t…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The trial of Quincy man, who has been in the Adams County Jail for nearly 26 months facing three counts of first-degree murder, was delayed yet again Wednesday afternoon in Adams County Circuit Court. John Citro with the Adams County Public Defender’s office informed Judge Robert Adrian of a potential conflict of interest…
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