In Chicago, almost one out of every twelve defendants released before trial with ankle monitors has vanished, leaving authorities clueless about their whereabouts. Some of these individuals are suspected of committing serious crimes while under the program’s watch.
According to figures from the Circuit Clerk of Cook County, 246 out of 3,048 defendants granted pre-trial release with ankle monitors are currently unaccounted for, no longer wearing their tracking devices. Among these, a few have allegedly participated in violent acts, including Alphanso Talley, who faces charges for the murder of Chicago Police Department Officer John Bartholomew.
Numerous defendants within the ankle monitor initiative, who are on pre-trial release, stand accused of violent offenses:
- 13 individuals charged with attempted murder
- 103 individuals charged with sexual assault
- 21 individuals charged with murder
- 173 individuals charged with aggravated battery
Alphanso Talley has been charged with murder following allegations of shooting two police officers. (Cook County Sheriff’s Office)
Chief Judge Charles Beach of Cook County informed WGN that efforts are underway to locate the missing individuals.
“This doesn’t necessarily mean they are committing crimes,” Beach commented. “While some might be, law enforcement is actively searching for them as we speak.”
John Bartholomew was shot and killed at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital. (Chicago Police Department)
He also defended Judge John Lyke, who was presiding over Talley’s previous criminal cases and said in December that the convicted felon’s “mind is finally developing, and he may be on the path to making better decisions,” according to ABC7 News. Records indicated that Talley first got an electronic monitor on Dec. 11, 2025, but his monitor alerted two violations within three days in early March.
“I wouldn’t call it a mistake,” Beach said. “The judge made the best decision with what was in front of them at the time, right? Unfortunately, you know, we’ll go back to that concept: How do you predict what another human being is going to do?”
Talley is hardly the only person accused of committing a violent crime while on the ankle monitor program.
In November 2025, repeat offender Lawrence Reed, 50, allegedly lit a woman on fire while on the city’s blue line train, yelling “burn b—-.”
Lawrence Reed, 50, is charged with committing a terrorist attack or violence against a mass transportation system, according to officials. (Chicago Police Department)
Reed was charged with aggravated battery in August 2025, but was released pre-trial with an ankle monitor, against prosecutors’ wishes.
Reed has been arrested at least 13 times by the Chicago Police Department since 2017, records indicate.
Marlon Miller, 40, was arrested in December 2025 after he allegedly attacked three women in the downtown area and was charged with three felony counts of aggravated battery in a public place, according to Fox 32 Chicago.
Marlon Miller was accused of attacking three women in Chicago. (Chicago Police Department)
At the time of the alleged attacks, Miller was wearing an ankle monitor, according to ABC7.
Sherri Bester, one of the women allegedly attacked, said “He yelled —- and then he swung and hit me in my left eye.”
“He hit me hard enough that even with my glasses on my eye still did swell,” Bester said.
Beach, however, insisted the SAFE-T act along with the state’s move to cashless bail isn’t making the county less safe.
“When monetary bail existed, we had people who posted monetary bail who went out and committed atrocious offenses. It happened. It happened frequently. We no longer have monetary bail. We have other factors. Those things are still happening, right? That is the nature of a system that is designed with the presumption of innocence,” Beach said.
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