SMETHPORT -ðA University of Pittsburgh at Bradford student was
arrested Thursday on campus and was awaiting extradition to
Chicago, where she will face solicitation of murder charges.
Just before the conclusion of a session of McKean County Court
set aside for regularly scheduled pleas, ARDs and arraignments
Thursday afternoon, McKean County Sheriff Brad Mason brought Raquel
Jaques, 24, in front of McKean County Judge John Yoder. Mason
explained Jaques was a fugitive from justice and had been arrested
Thursday. He said she is facing solicitation for murder charges in
Chicago.
Yoder read Jaques her Miranda rights, told her why she was being
detained and explained the extradition process to her before asking
her if she wanted to waive extradition and return to Chicago.
Jaques, who spoke quietly and seemed reserved, waived
extradition. Yoder told her she would continue to be detained at
the McKean County Jail for the next 30 days or until officials from
Chicago arrived to take her into their custody.
Assistant District Attorney Christa Schott told Yoder
authorities from Chicago were en route to take Jaques into custody
Thursday.
Jaques – arms and legs shackled, hair pulled back into a
ponytail – then left the courtroom with Mason.
Mason said later Thursday afternoon the warrant he received from
Chicago regarding Jaques was actually from the Cook County Circuit
Court. He went on to say the communication he received from Cook
County advised arresting officers to “use caution,” and referred to
Jacques as “armed and dangerous.”
He said that solicitation for murder typically means the accused
is charged with attempting to hire someone to kill a third party.
Officials didn’t indicate who that third party was.
Mason explained that while the warrant from Chicago was for the
above charge, the warrant issued by McKean County for Jaques was on
a fugitive from justice charge.
Jaques was arrested by Pitt-Bradford Police Chief Dan Songer
Thursday on campus, Mason said. She was then taken in front of
Magisterial District Judge Rich Luther, who arraigned her and
remanded her to McKean County Jail.
A spokesperson at Luther’s office said Jaques’ address at the
time of her arrest was listed as 9 Campus Drive, Bradford.
Pitt-Bradford’s Director of Communication and Marketing Pat
Frantz Cercone said Thursday “the university’s role in the matter
was only to assist in the serving of the warrant and to assist the
investigating team from Chicago.”
Cercone referred further questions about Jaques, a nursing major
at Pitt-Bradford, to Det. Saul Del Rivero of the Chicago Police
Department.
A message left for Del Rivero Thursday night was not immediately
returned. The outgoing message at his contact number after regular
business hours indicated he was part of a “cold case squad.”
Chicago Police Media Relations Officer Christina Schuler said
the warrant for Jaques’ arrest out of Chicago was issued by their
cold case division, which means the incident for which she is
charged “must have happened a while ago,” but added she was not
sure exactly how long. She was also unsure how long it takes for a
case to be considered a “cold case.”
Schuler said Jaques had one previous arrest in Chicago, when she
was charged with aggravated assault in 2000. She was not convicted
of that crime, however, Schuler said.
Her records indicated Jaques was a resident of Pennsylvania, and
the warrant from Chicago was dated Feb. 15 of this year.
