People v. Perry

── People v. Perry ── Court: Appellate Court of Illinois Date: April 14, 2026 Category: General 2026 IL App (1st) 260045B-U No. 1-26-0045B Fifth Division April 14, 2026 NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1). IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST DISTRICT People of the State of Illinois, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Cook County ) v. ) No. 2025CR1079501 ) Joshua Perry, ) The Honorable ) Charles P. Burns Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge Presiding. JUSTICE WILSON delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Mikva and Oden Johnson concurred in the judgment. ORDER ¶1 Held: The judgment of the circuit court is affirmed. The Pretrial Fairness Act authorizes pretrial detention where the defendant committed a qualifying offense (other than a Class 4 felony) and, as here, poses a high likelihood of willful flight to avoid prosecution. ¶2 This appeal arises under the Pretrial Fairness Act (Act), codified in article 110 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Code) (725 ILCS 5/110 et seq. (West 2024)). Defendant, Joshua Perry, is charged with escape of a felon from a penal institution. See 720 ILCS 5/31-6(a) (West 2024). The circuit court granted the State’s petition to deny pretrial release. Perry appeals, arguing the court erred in finding that escape was a detainable offense under Code section 110-6.1(a)(6)- No. 1-26-0045B (a)(6.5) and that he posed a high likelihood of willful flight under Code section 110-6.1(a)(8). For the reasons that follow, we affirm. ¶3 I. BACKGROUND ¶4 On September 17, 2025, defendant-appellant Joshua Perry was arrested and charged with three counts of escape, each a Class 2 felony. Perry was arraigned on October 1, 2025. ¶5 On October 15, 2025, plaintiff-appellee the People of the State of Illinois (State) filed a petition for pretrial detention under section 110-6.1 of the Code (725 ILCS 5/110-6.1 (West 2024)), as amended by the Act. The State filed a second petition on October 23, 2025. At both times, Perry was in Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) custody for a parole violation, as detailed below. He was released on mandatory supervised release on December 10, 2025, and the detention hearing was held on December 16, 2025. ¶6 In its petition, the State alleged that the proof was evident and the presumption great that Perry committed a detainable offense—specifically, an “other qualifying offense” (Code section 110-6.1(a)(6)–(6.5)) and “willful flight” (Code section 110-6.1(a)(8))—that his pretrial release posed a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons or the community based on the specific articulable facts of the case, and that no less restrictive conditions could mitigate that risk. 725 ILCS 5/110-6.1(a)(6)-(6.5), 110-6.1(e)(3) (West Supp. 2025). ¶7 At the hearing, the State proffered the following facts. On November 19, 2024, Perry was residing at the IDOC Crossroads Adult Transitional Center while on parole for fou