COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — An inmate at Cook County Jail stole a sheriff's deputy's cellphone this week when he pretended to trip and fall during a court appearance, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The sleight of hand happened inside the Leighton Criminal Court Building, where 41-year-old Joe Donald attended a routine court call for a pending home-invasion case, prosecutors said.
Donald has been in county custody awaiting trial since June, when a Cook County judge set bail in that case at $400,000.
As deputies escorted Donald out of the third-floor courtroom Tuesday, he spotted an iPhone 6 on a back counter, according to court records. One of the deputies had left it there.
Seizing the opportunity, Donald pretended to trip and fall — and successfully grabbed the phone without anyone noticing, Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said during a bond hearing Wednesday.
When the deputy later noticed his phone was missing, a search ensued. Deputies found the phone inside a secure cell, stuffed in Donald's shoe, Scaduto said.
Donald, of the 3700 block of South Prairie Avenue, was charged with theft.
On Wednesday, Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. set bond in the theft case at $100,000.
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