Arrest Number 397, and Counting

How much time, money and effort have been spent trying to keep Shermain Miles from committing crimes in Uptown and Edgewater?  Adding up her court time, arrest time, rehab time, and prison time, it's gotta be in the millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours.

Out of an intensive rehab prison stint on November 18th and sent to a Humboldt Park halfway house, she swore to stop hanging with her old companions, to stay away from the North Side and to continue taking steps to continue her sobriety.

And yet, according to the Sun-Times, "The woman who has racked up a near-record 396 arrests picked up one more this week when she was hauled off an Edgewater street for a host of alleged offenses, including misdemeanor battery, theft, reckless conduct and drinking in public."

Shermain Miles Out Of Prison, Vows She Has Changed

Chandler West/For Sun-Times Media

Shermain Miles is once again on the front page of the Sun-Times, where she's been many times before.

396 arrests (putting her in the top one percent of Illinois criminals), assaulting an alderman, and having the chairman of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board attend your misdemeanor trials will do that.

After nearly a year behind bars, she's sober and back in Chicago as of Monday, this time taking up residence at a second-chance residential home for ex-inmates in Humboldt Park.  She says that drinking made her "a monster" and that she knows that remaining sober and staying away from her former street companions are the keys to her new life.

The entire article is here; Stefano Esposito of the Sun-Times has done a stellar job of tracking Ms. Miles's progress over the past year or so, and this article is no exception.

A lifetime of bad habits and criminal activity is a hard pattern to break out of.  Addiction is, as the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous puts it, "cunning, baffling and powerful."  We hope Ms. Miles is up to the challenge and that she remains sober and non-newsworthy.  We'd love to never have to write about her again, and hope the counter on her arrest records stays frozen right where it is now.

Shermain Miles: Not Welcome In The 46th Ward

There was an article in the Sun-Times Wednesday about Shermain Miles, she of the 396 arrests.  She's doing well in a structured environment (in this case, Logan Correctional Facility), which isn't really a surprise.  It's when she's making her own decisions that she seems to get into trouble.

[Illinois Prisoner Review Board Chairman Adam] Monreal’s goal is to ensure Miles is accepted into a [mental health treatment] program straight out of prison. She has submitted applications for several programs, one in Rockford and one in a neighboring state where the woman’s sister lives.

But one option was denied: “I did not recommend that she is paroled back out to the same [Chicago] ward where she assaulted the alderman (James Cappleman),” Monreal said. “I said I would not approve of that.”

Everyone seems to be on the same page with this, including Ms. Miles's most famous victim:

Reached by phone on Wednesday, Cappleman said Miles deserves a chance to succeed.

“I think Shermain exemplifies a problem that we see for the state of Illinois and that is a reason why we have a disproportionate amount of people in our prison system who have severe and chronic mental illness and ongoing alcohol and drug dependence,” Cappleman said. “It’s time we stop this revolving door of people going in and out of the prison system and get people the help they need so they can live their lives in a more productive manner.” Read the entire article here.

A "productive manner" is the opposite of the way Ms. Miles has lived her life until now. Can we hope that intensive mental health treatment, possible proximity to her family, and banishment from the 46th Ward may combine to succeed where there has only been failure before, 396 times?

A New Direction For Shermain Miles

From a Court Advocate:

"Today was a big court date for Shermain Miles, a/k/a Charmaine Boone, a/k/a '396 arrests.' She appeared in Branch 46 at 26th & California before Judge Peggy Chiampas, a very tough lady who doesn't put up with any crap.

There were 3 court advocates from the 19th District and 2 from the 20th District and Dana from Alderman Cappleman's Office.  We couldn't believe who else showed up!  The Chairman of the Prison Review Board for the State of Illinois, Adam Monreal.  And at least 1 reporter.  When you get near 400 arrests and start battering elected officials, you get the attention of the Big Wigs.

The court date was ostensibly to sentence Shermain for 4 crimes she's committed while on parole for armed robbery-----battery on the Alderman, trespassing on CTA property in Edgewater, public drinking, and assault on someone else, who didn't show up.  Instead, a plea deal was worked out-----but don't groan!  It's a good one!  The most time she would have served under those 4 charges was 364 days and she's served 291 of them.  If no deal had been worked out, she coulda/woulda been back on the streets of Uptown in 3 months.

So the deal is, she agreed to plead guilty to those charges and got 'time served.'  She agreed to be part of an intensive program at Lincoln/Logan Correctional Center for prisoners with mental health and substance abuse issues.  She will take part in that program for a minimum of 1 year, maybe longer, depending on how it goes and if she's showing progress.  She will remain under the jurisdiction of Judge Chiampas and the Cook County system although she will be doing the program near Springfield.

The judge was very stern with her and said that it was clear that alcohol and going back time and again to life on the streets were her problems.  She said the community and Shermain herself didn't deserve the abuse Shermain had dealt out over her many years of arrests.  Judge Chiampas also acknowledged how many people had showed up in court because they felt strongly about her case.  She told Shermain it was a privilege-----not a right-----to take part in the program.

Shermain, when asked if she had anything to say, apologized to the judge and the community.  She sounded sincere.  Who knows, she may have been.  I heard afterward that it took lot of people and a lot of time to get this program worked out for her.  The North Side Community Justice Center really busted their hump getting this case together.  I hope Shermain gets the help she needs, but I am happiest she'll work on her problems away from 'slippery places' and away from society at large.  Uptown and Edgewater will be better for it."

UU Note:  In his letter to the Prisoner Review Board, and the ensuing community letter-writing campaign, Ald. Cappleman wrote:  "I strongly encourage the Prisoner Review Board to consider a highly structured environment that would not have her interacting with the general public."  This seems to fit the bill.

Update:  The Sun-Times article is here:  "Woman arrested 396 times goes to mental health and substance abuse program."

Shermain Miles Found Sane, Will Stand Trial

Shermain Miles was in court this morning and was found to be legally sane, and fit to stand trial for several charges she's racked up while on parole for armed robbery.

She remains in prison for parole violations while awaiting trial for these new charges.

According to the Sun-Times:  "A trial date has not yet been set for Miles most recent misdemeanor cases, but Miles’ public defender Friday told Judge Marvin Luckman that she hopes to reach an agreement to avoid a trial."

You can read the entire article here.

Shermain Miles To Remain In Prison (For Now)

Another day, another chapter in the ongoing dilemma about what to do about someone with 396 arrests and no apparent willingness to change.

Tuesday, the Parole Board had decided "to see if Miles is eligible for a specialized mental health court that likely would require intense supervision," according to the Sun-Times.

Wednesday, it was discovered that Ms. Miles had taken part in that very program last year — and flunked out.

So, due to several arrests during her probation, Ms. Miles is back to prison awaiting trial on new charges.  She was ordered today to take a BCX — the same mental fitness exam that she refused to take earlier this year.

According to the Sun-Times, "[Parole Board Chairman Adam] Monreal and [Cook County ASA Kevin] Sobczyk said they haven’t entirely given up on finding a suitable solution — besides incarceration — for Miles."

Stay tuned.

"I'm Gonna Change" After 396 Arrests

One of many, many, many Miles/Boone
mugshots the Sun-Times has on its site

Charmaine Boone/Shermain Miles, Uptown's one-percenter, appeared before the parole board Tuesday regarding her 396th arrest, and she may be released to a community-based program for those with underlying mental health issues.  Or she may stay in prison until November for her latest parole violation.

At her hearing on Tuesday, she told the Parole Board that she was a changed person: a role model for young female inmates, even.  She said that she's finally learned her lesson (after 35 years of arrests), and that she leads a prison Bible study.

According to the article in the Sun-Times, "Board Chairman Adam Monreal told Miles that he plans to talk to Paul Biebel Jr., the chief judge at the 26th and California courthouse, to see if Miles is eligible for a specialized mental health court that likely would require intense supervision — and possibly in a community setting."

Now, we can't comment on the state of her mental health.  We understand that Ms. Miles refused to submit to a court-requested BCX (Behavioral Clinical Exam) to determine her competence.  It would be irresponsible to bring up her current mental condition with nothing to base it on.

What we do notice are a couple red flags in the article that suggest Ms. Miles may not be the amenable, willing parolee that she promises to be:

• When asked by one of the Board members why she hadn't been taking her meds prescribed for her previous diagnosed mental issues, "she said she would only take the right medication."
• "The board asked Miles about Cappleman, and her compliant tone instantly changed. She denied laying a finger on the alderman, who has organized a campaign to make sure his ward’s notorious resident isn’t released without intense supervision.  “He lied on me and said I pushed him,” Miles snapped."  In reality, many people saw the altercation that day, including several readers of this blog, and as we understand it, as she was running towards Ald. Cappleman, Ms. Miles pushed or ran into another man, who fell against the alderman, causing him to fall into some bushes.

So, the decision about Ms. Miles's immediate future lies with the chief judge at 26th & California, to see if there's room in a program for people with her particular demons.

Well, what the hell.... why not?  God knows nothing else has changed her behavior.  Locking her up hasn't worked.  Living for long stretches in a transient shelter hasn't worked.  Nor has putting her in the care of Thresholds.  Or giving her medication, which she doesn't take because it's not the "right kind."  After 35 years, Ms. Miles is still committing crimes against businesses and residents; still returning to her turf (roughly Lakeview to Rogers Park) after each incarceration; and still gaming the system she knows so well.

In his letter to the Parole Board, Ald. Cappleman urged the Parole Board "to consider a highly structured environment that would not have her interacting with the general public."  The program the Parole Board suggests is described as one with "intense supervision."  Not quite the same thing.

We hope this program stops a 35-year run of predatory behavior and arrests.  But if it proves to be unsuccessful, we want to see Ms. Miles in an environment where she can no longer victimize this community.  It's up to the chief judge and the parole board now.  There are a lot of eyes watching to see what happens.

The Sun-Times article is here.

396 Arrests, 83 Aliases: "A Master At Working The System"

Some of Charmaine Boone/Shermain Miles's many mugshots

Shermain Miles (or Charmaine Boone, depending on the day) is a familiar sight to many in Uptown.  Too familiar, most would say.

She's been a one-woman crime wave.  Not only quality-of-life crimes, like public indecency and public intoxication (although there've been plenty of those).  She's also been convicted of attacking senior citizens; punching, slapping and pinching people she randomly encounters; pulling knives on pedestrians; and stopping traffic because she feels like it.  As we said in February:  "Ms. Miles's long rap sheet lists convictions for armed robbery, attempted robbery, criminal damage to state property, retail theft (twice), possession of controlled substances, possession of narcotics (twice), attempted robbery of a victim who was handicapped or elderly, and robbery."

The Sun-Times has an in-depth article about her today.  She's had a tortured life, and part of us feels sorry for her.  But a bigger part of us feels sorry for Uptown and the North Side, where so many people and businesses have suffered because of her inability to be part of society without causing problems.

As the article says:  "She fakes seizures that mean costly hospital visits. She gets judges to delay her cases. And then she returns to the streets to be arrested again and again — so many times that she ranks in the top 1 percent for all current CPD arrestees."

This woman, who prompted a community letter-writing campaign last February, has been a client of many social services, including Thresholds, which refused to talk to the Sun-Times about Ms. Miles or even about their programs in general. As the article says, she's a master at working the system.  A policeman says she's brilliant at "getting judges to delay cases so that her victims get frustrated, stop coming to court and then the case is dismissed."

Right now (sigh of relief) she's in jail. She may be there until 2014 if a Prisoner Review Board finds her guilty of breaking her parole.  After that?

If nothing changes, she'll come back to Uptown, as she has many times before.  She has family (two sisters and adult daughter) who can't handle her.  So Ms. Miles always makes her way back here.

The entire article is here.

Call To Action: Write A Letter

Some of Charmaine Boone/Shermain Miles's many mugshots

Many readers might have first heard of Charmaine Boone/Shermain Miles when she was arrested for allegedly assaulting Ald. Cappleman last year.  For others in the Uptown/ Edgewater/ Rogers Park area, she's been a constant problem, one that more than 450 arrests over the past 20 years has not deterred.

Just off the top of our heads, we can recall her being arrested for:  mugging elderly people from behind; possession of drugs; stealing; peeing in the back seat of police cars (in the hopes that would discourage officers from arresting her); and her Oh no she didn't! moment, asking the nice people at Magnolia Cafe if she could use their ladies room on Opening Day, then locking herself in and smearing poop all over the walls.

Ms. Miles's long rap sheet lists convictions for armed robbery, attempted robbery, criminal damage to state property, retail theft (twice), possession of controlled substances, possession of narcotics (twice), attempted robbery of a victim who was handicapped or elderly, and robbery.

She undoubtedly has personal demons, but we're more concerned about the people she has affected: the senior citizens who have suffered because of her; the businesses she has robbed (both of customers and goods); and the residents she has harassed.  Most people would agree that 450+ arrests aren't indicative of someone who is capable of living an unsupervised life.

Her current home is in the Dwight Correctional Center, and Ald. Cappleman's office would like your help in ensuring that she goes into a supervised situation where she cannot be a danger to citizens in the future.

"According to the State's Attorney's Community Justice Center, Shermain Miles (a.k.a. Charmain Miles-Boone) is currently in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections for a Parole Violation. The IDOC Prisoner Review Board is the governing body determining her fate and, according to their website and suggested by a staff person at her holding facility (Dwight), letters appear to be a viable option to notify the Board of the problems she has caused in the various neighborhoods on the Northside. The hearing is scheduled for March 7, 2013.

Alderman Cappleman drafted the attached letter to the Prisoner Review Board, and the CJC has provided the attached template to help concerned citizens express their concerns regarding Ms. Miles' fate.  Her activities in Uptown have been well-documented on your website and this is a good opportunity for community members to express their concerns in detail and potentially have an impact on the fate of a very problematic individual."

If you have been affected by her behavior, either directly or indirectly, please copy and paste the following template and write a letter to the Prisoner Review Board about Ms. Miles.  This is your chance to stop being frustrated about "people with 450 arrests being on our streets" and to help do something to stop it. 

---

<DATE>
<YOUR NAME>
<YOUR ADDRESS>
<CITY, STATE, ZIP CODE>

Illinois Prisoner Review Board
Victim Services Unit
319 East Madison Street, Suite A
Springfield, IL 62701

RE:    SHERMAIN MILES (Inmate #: B47021)
       Victim/Witness Letter of Concern for Upcoming Prisoner Review Board Hearing

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
 
[write your text here]

---

Below is Alderman Cappleman's letter:

Life On The Edge

Last Friday Ald. Cappleman tweeted:  "Had a woman with 446 prior arrests arrested again. She really needs a structured environment to give us all, including herself, some peace."

Turns out he buried the lead.

As the Sun-Times reports today, the (in)famous Charmaine Boone/Shermain Miles -- she of the 446 arrests, including several for mugging senior citizens -- went after Alderman C with a knife on Friday after she saw him call in a 911 report regarding her public drinking and intoxication.

It’s dangerous being a hands-on Chicago alderman who walks the streets of his ward and is not afraid to get his hands dirty. Rookie Ald. James Cappleman (46th) is living proof. [...]

The alderman said he didn’t actually see the knife, nor was he stabbed. But, Cappleman said he has no doubt his life was in danger. 

“She reached into her blouse and was chasing me ….Two witnesses told me, ‘She has a knife. You’d better run’ — and I did,” the alderman said.

“The real story is not that she chased after me with a knife or no knife. … The real story is that we have someone in the community with 448 arrests who is terrorizing our community and we can’t stop it. This has gone on for years and years with her. … My goal is that we do something so that she stops falling through the cracks. … My goal is to get this woman help so she is off the streets. I’m tired of this. The community is tired of this.”

Read the entire article here.

Update: The Windy City Times story is here.

Update:  The Trib has the story, too, with some history on Ms. Boone:

Cook County Court and state prison records indicate Boone, listed in state prison records as Shermain Miles, has been arrested more than 300 times since 1986 on drug possession, retail theft, criminal damage to property, prostitution and armed robbery charges. She has been convicted and sent to prison at least 10 times, the records show. When she was arrested Friday, she was on parole for armed robbery after being released from prison in April 2011. 

Cappleman said she boasts of being arrested 446 times. Cappleman said he would like to see the woman get into a program that treats whatever underlying problems she has. “My goal is to get this woman help, so she is off the streets,” Cappleman said. “I am tired of this. The community is tired of this. . . . We have someone … who is terrorizing our community, and we can’t stop it.”