Opinion ID: 2025227
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: contents of grand jury report

Text: At the conclusion of its investigation, the grand jury submitted to Vermilion County Circuit Judge James Robinson a seven-page report (drafted by then-Assistant State's Attorney Craig DeArmond). The grand jury requested that the report be made public, and the report was released on December 20, 1978. According to the grand jury report, 34 unsolved burglaries were committed in Danville in 1970 and 1971. The report noted that during 1970 and 1971 a series of suspicious burglaries attracted the attention of several ranking officers, and that during this time 37 burglaries were reported, of which only three were solved or cleared by arrest. The remaining 34 burglaries, according to the report, were all discovered by one of four officers, each of whom was either on patrol duty during a night shift or was voluntarily accompanying his colleagues on such patrol. The burglaries all occurred at night, and the targets were all commercial establishments. The report listed 14 particular burglaries for which the grand jury had received evidence. The grand jury report refers to plaintiff twice. The first reference is in a summary of the testimony of Officer Joseph Miller, who at all relevant times worked for the Danville police department. Miller had participated in an internal investigation of the suspected misconduct, and the grand jury report summarizes his testimony regarding a burglary of the local American Legion Hall as follows: Officer Miller described the Legion burglary of December 21, 1970 and how [Officer] Massey had fortuitously discovered an open window, failed to call it in, met with Officer Hill and returned to the Legion, leaving Miller posted outside. Miller testified that Massey had previously questioned him concerning whether upon finding a place broken into, would he accept something taken by officers[.] Massey also asked him what his favorite liquor was; to which Miller replied, `Scotch'. After all officers who initially responded; including: Calvin Norman, Jerry Hill, Jack Roland and Michael Reed, had left, the owner was called to check out the premises. When they left the scene Officer Miller found a bottle of Scotch under his side of the seat in their squad car. The grand jury report also refers to plaintiff in summarizing the testimony of Lieutenant Edwin McGee, who, like Miller, had participated in the police department's internal investigation. The grand jury report states: Lieutenant Edwin McGee testified as to his responding to the August 25, 1971 burglary at Harding's Pharmacy where he found Officers Hill and Reed at the scene with Roland and Massey showing up later. His investigation of the scene, specifically including the watch case and shaver display showed nothing to be missing or disturbed, however, when he read the report submitted the next day by Hill, it showed watches, shavers and radios to have been taken along with a large amount of cash. The report states that a grand jury investigation should have been conducted years earlier. The report states that the limitations period had run regarding the burglary offenses and that officers could thus not be prosecuted for their participation in the offenses. The report concludes that there is no indication that the situation as it existed in 1970 and 1971 exists today.