Circuit Judge John F. Lyke Jr. ordered two Cook County sheriff’s deputies taken into custody last Wednesday after they would not immediately remove handcuffs from a high-risk inmate charged with murder. The judge wanted the man free to hug relatives in the Leighton Criminal Court Building. Deputies Samuel Estrada Perez and Jarrett Kelley said sheriff policy requires a supervisor’s sign-off before restraints come off an inmate labeled high-risk movement. Lyke told them it was a direct order, then had them stripped of badges and gear and threatened with up to 90 days in jail. They apologized and were released after about an hour Chicago reports the judge has warned at least six deputies over two years for resisting his courtroom habit of uncuffing murder defendants for family hugs and private visits. This is the same judge who, in December 2025, released repeat felon Alphanso Talley on electronic monitoring over prosecutors’ objections. Talley later cut the monitor. In April he was charged with shooting two Chicago police officers at Swedish Hospital, killing Officer John Bartholomew. Lyke later revoked that release. Chief Judge Charles Beach said his office reviewed the deputy incident and talked with the sheriff."