Post by Site Admin on Nov 2, 2005 6:30:02 GMT -5
Lawyer: Grand jury intimidated
[published on Tue, Oct 25, 2005]
WOODSTOCK – An attorney for one of three former police officers accused of beating a man near a Fox Lake bar said Monday that the state police officer who was investigating the attack should not have been allowed to view grand-jury hearings that led to the men being indicted.
To further complicate the situation, prosecutors said they could not find a court order that they said McHenry County Presiding Judge Sharon Prather signed giving the agent permission to be at the otherwise private grand-jury proceedings.
McHenry County Judge Joseph Condon said Monday that he would give prosecutors until Nov. 1 to find the court order.
"It seems unusual to me that there would be an order entered by a judge that is not memorialized someplace," Condon said. "Judges are cautious about this sort of thing."
If prosecutors cannot find the written order, Jerome Volstad's attorney, Alfred Stavros, said he immediately would file a motion to dismiss his client's indictment.
Jessica Thelen, and former police Officers Volstad, Brian Quilici and Ronald Pilati are charged with aggravated battery and conspiracy in connection with the Feb. 20 beating of Ryan Hallett. The former officers also face additional charges.
The attack, which occurred at KC's Cabin near Fox Lake, left Hallett with a shattered right eye socket and other injuries. The four people charged in the attack deny the charges and say Hallett was the aggressor.
Volstad is a former Lincolnshire officer, Quilici is a former Richmond officer, and Pilati used to work for the Spring Grove Police Department.
Illinois State Police Special Agent Walter Kroncke, who investigated the incident, sat through testimonies of witnesses during the grand-jury deliberations before he testified in front of the same grand jury, court records show.
Prosecutors said Kroncke was sitting in on the proceedings because of his extensive knowledge of the case, but Stavros said Kroncke was present only to intimidate witnesses.
Prosecutors submitted a written affidavit from Robert Beaderstadt, criminal division chief for the McHenry County state's attorney's office, which says he received permission from Prather before grand-jury proceedings began May 19.
Assistant State's Attorney Nichole Owens said she and court clerks had searched through a "voluminous amount" of documents and could not find any order. Owens also said she was not sure that a second search would have a different result.
If the state's attorney's office cannot find the written court order, an affidavit should be sufficient proof to uphold the indictments, Owens said.
Stavros is trying to build a defense for Volstad that Kroncke had "ulterior motives" and a "hidden agenda" to discipline other police officers.
archive.nwherald.com/archive_detail.php?archiveFile=./pubfiles/nwh/archive/2005/October/25/LocalNews/65670.xml
[published on Tue, Oct 25, 2005]
WOODSTOCK – An attorney for one of three former police officers accused of beating a man near a Fox Lake bar said Monday that the state police officer who was investigating the attack should not have been allowed to view grand-jury hearings that led to the men being indicted.
To further complicate the situation, prosecutors said they could not find a court order that they said McHenry County Presiding Judge Sharon Prather signed giving the agent permission to be at the otherwise private grand-jury proceedings.
McHenry County Judge Joseph Condon said Monday that he would give prosecutors until Nov. 1 to find the court order.
"It seems unusual to me that there would be an order entered by a judge that is not memorialized someplace," Condon said. "Judges are cautious about this sort of thing."
If prosecutors cannot find the written order, Jerome Volstad's attorney, Alfred Stavros, said he immediately would file a motion to dismiss his client's indictment.
Jessica Thelen, and former police Officers Volstad, Brian Quilici and Ronald Pilati are charged with aggravated battery and conspiracy in connection with the Feb. 20 beating of Ryan Hallett. The former officers also face additional charges.
The attack, which occurred at KC's Cabin near Fox Lake, left Hallett with a shattered right eye socket and other injuries. The four people charged in the attack deny the charges and say Hallett was the aggressor.
Volstad is a former Lincolnshire officer, Quilici is a former Richmond officer, and Pilati used to work for the Spring Grove Police Department.
Illinois State Police Special Agent Walter Kroncke, who investigated the incident, sat through testimonies of witnesses during the grand-jury deliberations before he testified in front of the same grand jury, court records show.
Prosecutors said Kroncke was sitting in on the proceedings because of his extensive knowledge of the case, but Stavros said Kroncke was present only to intimidate witnesses.
Prosecutors submitted a written affidavit from Robert Beaderstadt, criminal division chief for the McHenry County state's attorney's office, which says he received permission from Prather before grand-jury proceedings began May 19.
Assistant State's Attorney Nichole Owens said she and court clerks had searched through a "voluminous amount" of documents and could not find any order. Owens also said she was not sure that a second search would have a different result.
If the state's attorney's office cannot find the written court order, an affidavit should be sufficient proof to uphold the indictments, Owens said.
Stavros is trying to build a defense for Volstad that Kroncke had "ulterior motives" and a "hidden agenda" to discipline other police officers.
archive.nwherald.com/archive_detail.php?archiveFile=./pubfiles/nwh/archive/2005/October/25/LocalNews/65670.xml