Chicago, IL
…yet another story reflecting the preferential treatment given to police officers in drunk driving cases. It really is a shame.
Chicago Police Officer John Ardelean was indicted Tuesday on charges of reckless homicide and aggravated DUI in the Thanksgiving 2007 crash that left two men dead.The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office announced Tuesday that Ardelean has been indicted on two counts of reckless homicide, a Class 3 Felony, which carries a possible prison sentence of up to five years.
The charges result from the Nov. 22 crash at 2925 N. Damen Ave. that claimed the lives of Miquel Flores, 22, and Erick Lagunas, 21.
A judge had originally dropped the case against Ardelean after witnesses said he did not appear intoxicated and the men in the other car ran a stop sign.
In surveillance video taken from Martini Ranch, Ardelean is seen taking what appears to be several shots.
CBS 2′s Pamela Jones reports the State’s Attorney’s Office won’t say why this case is being brought up again now. CBS 2 is told they have had access to the surveillance video from the bar ever since the crash.
Ardelean has also been indicted on four counts of aggravated DUI, a Class 2 Felony, but because there were two fatal victims, it is punishable by up to 28 years, according to a release from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.
Ardelean, 34, will be arraigned on Oct. 1.
After viewing the video in its entirety, Assistant State’s Attorney Bob Milan notified the victims’ families that he was re-opening the case.
“I’m just ecstatic,” Miguel Flores’ sister, Nancy Flores, said. “I was happy. I was shaking, I was crying.”
In February a judge dropped a criminal case against Ardelean because there wasn’t enough evidence. But the attorney for the victim’s family claims the state’s attorney’s office didn’t consider this part of the video until now.
“They didn’t tell me the truth,” attorney Daniel O’Conner said. “They didn’t look at the whole tape which would be inexcusable or, worse, they looked at the entire tape and did nothing with what they found. So, either one is terrible.”
O’Connor says the tape shows Ardelean drinking a shot with a woman, accepting a bottle from the bartender, and walking out.
But Ardelean’s attorney says the tape doesn’t show exactly what he was drinking and it wasn’t booze.
“The prosecutors working on this case are competent, thorough people, but whoever made this decision just has the facts all wrong,” Attorney Thomas Needham said. “The staff at the bar, the other patrons and the bar and the people who know my client will testify that most of the drinks that he was consuming that night were non-alcoholic.”
He’s not saying the officer didn’t have any alcohol.
Several hours after the crash Ardelean’s blood alcohol level was at .032, below the legal limit.
The families of the victims are also suing Ardelean and the bar in civil court.