Crime & Safety
Nutter Murder Suspect Pleads Not Guilty to Assaulting Officer
Benjamin Schenk has already pleaded guilty to the murder charge, and could get an additional 10 years for throwing a chair at a jail guard.
Benjamin Schenk, one of three men charged with the 2013 murder of Highland Park resident Colin Nutter and the only to have already pleaded guilty, pleaded not guilty to separate charges that he assaulted a corrections officer last month at the Lake County Jail, according to the Lake County News-Sun.
Schenk, of Highwood, has been in jail since 2013, when he, Philip Vatamaniuc and Michael Coffee were charged with murder after Nutter’s body was found near the Edens Expressway. Authorities have described the crime as drug-related.
Last month, Schenk - after pleading guilty to the murder charges and having an additional firearm charge dropped as part of the deal - was charged with aggravated battery after allegedly throwing a chair at a corrections officer during a confrontation.
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He pleaded not guilty to those charges, which could add as much as 10 years to his eventual murder sentence (could be 20 to 50 years) should he be convicted.
Schenk is expected to testify against Vatamaniuc and Coffee at their trials.
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