Kim Foxx's Office Dropped the Ball: Venkatesh Bhogireddy Escalated

His 2018 charges disappeared quietly and without explanation.

Mugshot of Venkatesh Bhogireddy

Kim Foxx’s office dropped the ball in 2018 when the office could have aggressively prosecuted Venkatesh Bhogireddy.

He was let off then with less than a slap on the wrist. It’s no surprise he then attempted to participate in a conspiracy in 2019 to have his ex-wife’s uncle murdered.

Foxx is primarily known for her role in the Jussie Smollett affair; where she brought charges, dropped them and a judge was then forced to appoint a special prosecutor who finally secured a conviction.

She has also developed a reputation among some as soft on crime. When I covered a rally for the Daily Caller against Foxx in 2019, multiple cops complained of her soft on crime stance.

Police and their supporters who spoke with the Caller said the reaction to the Smollett case was the result of pent-up frustration over numerous issues.

“The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has been smoldering for a while, and this is the case that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Enough’s enough,” said Tony, a CPD officer.

The Heritage Foundation wrote a scathing review.

Foxx was a harbinger of things to come, when four years ago she became the first George Soros-backed rogue prosecutorial candidate to win. 

The Washington Post said that, at that time, he had “plunked $300,000 into a [political action committee] created to elect Kim Foxx.” 

Up for re-election this year, Foxx again is the beneficiary of Soros’ largesse, as he has already pumped at least $2 million into the Illinois Justice & Safety PAC to help her get re-elected.

But what’s all that money buying? And why is Soros so interested in county district attorney races?  As we’ve written elsewhere, it’s because he and his prosecutorial puppets are seeking to “reimagine” and fundamentally transform our criminal justice system from an adversarial system pitting prosecutors against defense counsel, to a system where criminal defense attorneys, beholden to the movement, take over DA offices and enact non-prosecution policies.

More recently, Foxx may have been involved in some domestic violence of her own.

A police report obtained by CWBChicago and other media outlets through a Freedom of Information Act requests shows police responded to Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's home in Flossmoor last weekend.

Foxx and her husband are asking for privacy, and calling last weekend's incident a "personal family matter."

Foxx's husband Kelley Foxx has been by her side at various public appearances but it was a different scene last Saturday night.

According to the police report, Kelley Foxx dialed 911 to report a domestic incident with his wife, telling responding officers she became angry with him about something that was posted on Facebook that he did.

As I described in the initial story, Venkatesh Bhogireddy approached a confidential informant in 2019; that informant tipped off the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

The ATF started a sting with an undercover officer recording numerous conversations of Bhogireddy planning the hit; in some, Bhogireddy expressed interest in killing his ex-wife as well: when the timing was right.

Bhogireddy stated that if she was murdered during their divorce he would probably be the likely suspect.

It was what happened in 2018 which likely set the stage for this.

I have four police reports about a variety of incidents involving Bhogireddy and his ex-wife, Usha Karri: her alleged rape, alleged theft, a violation of a restraining order, and more.

Only one of those led to a charge. On September 5, 2018, Bhogireddy was charged with violating a restraining order.

According to records from the Cook County Clerk of Courts Office, Bhogireddy was released the next day on a $3,000 bond.

The case moved along until it was dropped with no explanation in April 2019.

No explanation was provided in court documents for why this occurred however Bhogireddy’s attorney did submit a filing which is interesting.

Chicago attorney Michael Clancy began representing Bhogireddy shortly after his arrest.

“It is hereby clarified that the Defendant was only charged with violation of order of protection, a charge that was dmissed on 2/28/19, and that domestic battery was never charged in this case.” The order stated.

This suggests that the prosecution, defense, and court all knew there were several charges swirling around Bhogireddy.

So, why were charges only brought for violating a protective order and why were they quietly dismissed?

I reached out to Clancy and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO), but their responses led to more questions than answers.

When I initially reached out to the CCSAO, the office told me to go look at the file.

“The Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court( official keeper if records) can provide any available public documents or court records regarding this case,” The media relations department at CCSAO told me initially.

I quickly replied, “I have those, why did the charges quietly disappear? That's what the documents show. Am I wrong? He violated a restraining order. He was accused of theft, rape and more. None of it was charged and these charges went away. Why?”

In response, the CCSAO was non-responsive again, “Pursuant to our document retention schedule with the Local Records Commission, we do not retain misdemeanor case files beyond 30 days after disposition of the case.  The Clerk's office would be the best resource to review the entire court file or order transcripts of the proceedings to obtain additional information about the case.”

I also reached out to Clancy; he initially responded, “I don’t recall specifically but usually like 99 percent of time the victim fails to prosecute if dismissed first or second court date.”

Usha has insisted repeatedly to me that she was trying to press for Venkatesh to face as many charges as possible.

Find my podcast with Usha and her uncle here: where she talks about this and more.

Clancy then stated, “Then it just must of {sic} been the talented and intimidating lawyer he had at the time. Maybe he should of {sic} kept me around in federal court.”

Must be.

Previously, the Chicago Police Department pointed me to the September arrest as their statement in this case.

So, with the opportunity to add rape, theft, and/or domestic violence charges to his violation of a protective order charge, the CCSAO decided instead to quietly make all the charges go away.

Is it any wonder that within a year Venkatesh Bhogireddy was emboldened enough to think he could whack his ex-wife’s uncle and get away with it?

Is it any wonder that even with Bhogireddy in jail, both Usha and her uncle continue to believe he will one day re-enter their lives and finish the job?

Post Script:

Please check out the new fundraiser for more Cook County stories here.