A judge denied a request on Wednesday from Marilyn Hartman's attorney to have her released directly to a housing facility on Wednesday - leaving the so-called "serial stowaway" in custody for now.
Judge Donald Panarese Jr.denied the motion, saying the facility in question - A Safe Haven, located in the 2700 block of West Roosevelt Road in the North Lawndale neighborhood on Chicago's West Side - is a 20-minute walk from a CTA train station.
Hartman's attorney told the judge that the facility would provide Hartman with mental health treatment and housing, asking Panarese to place her client on electronic monitoring with GPS.
A Safe Haven is a 24-hour secure facility that screens everyone that enters and exits, Hartman's attorney argued, adding that her client was not dangerous, has never exhibited violent behavior, and fully cooperated when she was taken into custody.
However, the prosecutor in Hartman's case objected to the motion to release her, saying the facility does not provide help for those with mental health issues and the building is not locked.
Hartman is currently receiving treatment while in custody, housed in the Cermak Health Services of Cook County Jail. She has completed her psychiatric evaluation but complete results have not come in, her attorney said, and is largely "staying to herself" in jail.
She was arrested at around 1:25 a.m. on Jan. 28 at O'Hare Airport, authorities said, a little more than two days after she was released on bond for evading security and boarding another flight to London.
She was charged with one misdemeanor count of criminal trespassing and one felony count of theft greater than $500, in connection with the cost of the plane ticket that she did not possess.
Hartman was next scheduled to appear before a judge in connection with the theft charge on Feb. 21, and on the trespassing charge on Feb. 28.
The so-called "serial stowaway" spent a year in Cook County Jail after repeated episodes of attempting to board aircraft at O’Hare and Midway airports. During various stages of her confinement, she has been treated for psychiatric issues. She has long struggled with homelessness and mental health and has had encounters with authorities at airports across the United States.
