BELLEVILLE – Former St. Clair County chief judge John Baricevic, now in private practice, has undertaken the defense of a felony suspect.
Baricevic appeared at the arraignment of William Romious on Sept. 22, after state’s attorney Brendan Kelly charged Romious with unlawful possession of a weapon.
Romious pleaded not guilty.
Kelly did not obtain an indictment, filing criminal information instead.
The information showed that Romious, age 69, resided in the 1500 block of Gaty Avenue in East St. Louis.
It stated that on Sept. 7, he possessed in his vehicle a Harrington and Richardson model 732 revolver.
It stated he was convicted of cocaine possession in Madison County in 2009.
It alleged a Class 2 felony, carrying a sentence of three to seven years.
It stated that a warrant was issued to Caseyville detective Michael Reel.
Associate judge Randall Kelley conducted the arraignment, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he will preside over the case.
Court dockets show judges often arraign suspects in cases that Chief Judge Andrew Gleeson later assigns to other judges.