In a courtroom at 26th and California on Thursday, two CWB Chicago story arcs came face to face: the effectiveness of facial recognition as a law enforcement tool and the frequency with which Judge D’Anthony Thedford refuses to grant detention petitions. The coincidental combo came after sheriff’s deputies brought Merlin Lu into Courtroom 102 to face hate crime, arson, and other charges for the high-profile cross-burning incident in Grant Park last week.
Prosecutors told Thedford that on June 9, Lu was captured on surveillance video holding two long planks of wood, walking from his Halsted Street home toward Grant Park. At about 1:52 p.m., he allegedly nailed two pieces of wood together, wrapped toilet paper around the cross, doused it with a gallon of kerosene, and tied a red hat to the top. Prosecutors said Lu propped the cross against a tree and set it on fire. Viral video recorded by a witness captured the cross and the tree burning, with flames extending into the tree’s upper limbs.
Prosecutors said Lu then fled the scene shirtless, carrying a backpack, heading west on Balbo Drive. Surveillance video showed Lu exiting Grant Park at 2:37 p.m. and walking back to his apartment…