UPDATE 9 p.m.
SYCAMORE - A jury has found Kirk Swaggerty guilty on three charges related to a 2005 home invasion in Genoa that left one man dead.
The jury returned the verdict Wednesday night after several hours of deliberation. He was found guilty on charges of first-degree murder, home invasion and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon.
UPDATE 4:40 p.m.
SYCAMORE – After two hours of closing arguments this afternoon, the murder case against Kirk Swaggerty has been given to the jury for deliberation
Just after 4 p.m., Circuit Judge Robbin Stuckert instructed the jury of its duty in determining whether Swaggerty is guilty or not guilty of the charges of first-degree murder, home invasion and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon.
Though Swaggerty was not at the Mason home when the break-in occurred Feb. 4, 2005, Prosecutor Phil Montgomery argued during closing arguments that since Swaggerty assisted, aided, abetted or helped, he too is responsible for Kappa's death.
The state has to prove that Kappa's death was a direct consequence of a chain of events set into motion by Swaggerty. Therefore, Stuckert told the jury that if it finds Swaggerty guilty of murder, it finds him guilty of home invasion; likewise, if the jury finds him not guilty of murder, it must also find him not guilty of home invasion.
Swaggerty's attorney Jason Kopec argued there was no motive presented for Swaggerty to have commit the crime, and there were too many holes in the state's case.
UPDATE: 12:55 p.m.
SYCAMORE – The man accused of planning a deadly home invasion became choked up while testifying Wednesday morning as he recalled helping an acquaintance tend to a gunshot wound.
Kirk B. Swaggerty, 41, is on trial for first-degree murder, home invasion and possession of a weapon by a felon. If convicted of the murder charge, he faces up to 60 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Swaggerty orchestrated the break-in of Amy Crosby's and Michael Mason's Genoa home in the 700 block of John Court. Authorities said that on the night of Feb. 4, 2005, Jason Middlekauff, 39, and Michael T. Kappa, 32, both of Schaumburg, broke into the home with the intent to steal marijuana and cash.
Once inside the home, Mason has testified that he was able to wrestle the gun away from Middlekauff and shot both men. Middlekauff, shot in the stomach, got into a van driven by Jaime Villarreal, 35, of Elgin. Middlekauff was left with the van in the McDonald's parking lot in Genoa and was later treated at Kishwaukee Community Hospital. Kappa was shot in the head and later died.
Swaggerty was not at the home during the incident, but state law allows a person to be charged with murder if investigators believe that the individual is responsible for the crime that led to the killing.
Swaggerty, the last witness to testify on behalf of the defense Wednesday, wiped away a few tears as he told his attorney, Jason Kopec, what happened when he saw Middlekauff lying in his van with a gunshot wound to the lower chest. Swaggerty said he scoured the van looking for a napkin or towel to try to put on Middlekauff's wound. Kopec asked if he looked in bags within the van and Swaggerty said he did.
Earlier in the trial, police testified a plastic True Value bag and receipt and wrapper for a roll of duct tape were found in Middlekauff's van; forensic fingerprint analysis showed Swaggerty's fingerprints were the only ones on those items.
Swaggerty said he had no knowledge of what had occurred at Mason's home until he left the McDonald's parking lot in his car with Villarreal driving. They went to an Elgin bar and, from there, a strip club called Blackjacks. There, Villarreal explained what took place at Mason's home, he said. Though Swaggerty said he just wanted to drop Villarreal off, the two stayed the night at a hotel and went to Mexico a few days later.
Swaggerty said he did go to Mason's home the night of Feb. 3, 2005, but he did not have any problem with Mason at the time of the incident. Swaggerty said he was in Genoa the night of Feb. 4, 2005, because he was supposed to purchase marijuana from Villarreal, who had told Swaggerty to meet him at a gas station on Route 72. That's where Swaggerty said he encountered Villarreal in a tow truck with tow driver Jesus Paz, and Kappa and Middlekauff in Middlekauff's van. From there, the group went to a bar and then to the McDonald's.
The group then drove to the Rail bar in Genoa. Kappa and Middlekauff waited out front in the van while Swaggerty, Paz and Villarreal got a drink inside. Swaggerty said Villarreal then left and told him to wait at the bar. Not long after, he received a call from Villarreal, who he said was in a panic. The group met back at the McDonald's parking lot, where Swaggerty saw Middlekauff had been shot.
Swaggerty said he suggested Mexico to Villarreal. He said he was "scared of them and scared of being arrested." When asked who he meant by "them," Swaggerty said Villarreal and John Stark. He said Stark was someone else he purchased marijuana from, and who worked with Villarreal in selling marijuana. Kopec said during opening arguments that Stark also purchased marijuana from Mason, owed Mason a greater amount of money than Swaggerty did and had threatened to kill Mason.
Prosecutor Stephanie Klein with the DeKalb County State's Attorney's Office said Swaggerty did not call the police to report the situation in 2005. She asked him if he contacted police in 2006, 2007, or 2008; he said he did not. Kopec asked Swaggerty why he did not contact police. Swaggerty said he feared something would happen to a member of his family if he did.
The trial will continue this afternoon at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore with closing arguments.
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ORIGINAL WEDNESDAY STORY
SYCAMORE – Cellphone records shared Tuesday during the trial of a man accused of planning a deadly home invasion in 2005 show he made and received calls to and from other men involved in the incident around the time it occurred.
Kirk B. Swaggerty, 41, is on trial for first-degree murder, home invasion and possession of a weapon by a felon. If convicted of the murder charge, he faces up to 60 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Swaggerty orchestrated the break-in of Amy Crosby's and Michael Mason's Genoa home in the 700 block of John Court.
Authorities said that on the night of Feb. 4, 2005, Jason Middlekauff, 39, and Michael T. Kappa, 32, both of Schaumburg, broke into the home with the intent to steal marijuana and cash.
Once inside the home, Mason has testified that he was able to wrestle the gun away from Middlekauff and shot both men. Middlekauff, shot in the stomach, got into a van driven by Jaime Villarreal, 35, of Elgin.
Middlekauff was left with the van in the McDonald's parking lot in Genoa and was later treated at Kishwaukee Community Hospital. Kappa was shot in the head and later died.
Villarreal and Middlekauff, who are already serving prison sentences for their involvement in the incident, have both testified during Swaggerty's trial.
Swaggerty was not at the home during the incident, but state law allows a person to be charged with murder if investigators believe that the individual is responsible for the crime that led to the killing.
Prosecutor Stephanie Klein with the DeKalb County State's Attorney's Office on Tuesday read cellphone activity from Swaggerty's phone the day before and day of the 2005 incident. Prosecutors and the defense agreed the information was accurate and did not require the analyst to testify in person.
Adnan Mirza, a system performance engineer with U.S. Cellular, found that cellphone records show Swaggerty received a call Feb. 3, 2005, from Michael Mason, who has testified he called Swaggerty the day before the home invasion about receiving a large amount of marijuana.
Later that day, Swaggerty received calls from Villarreal and called Middlekauff, Mirza said. On the afternoon of Feb. 4, 2005, Swaggerty received a call from Middlekauff. He also made or received calls to or from numbers Mirza couldn't identify.
That night, calls Swaggerty made or received went through a cellphone tower in Genoa, Klein said, including a 10:06 p.m. call made to his wife, Denise, a 10:10 p.m. call from Villarreal and two calls made to Villarreal at 10:12 p.m. and 10:16 p.m.
Villarreal testified last week he called Swaggerty after he and Middlekauff fled Mason's home, and Swaggerty – who another witness testified waited with him in a Genoa bar during the home invasion – met them in the McDonald's parking lot.
At 10:28 p.m., Swaggerty received a call from an unidentified number that went through a cellphone tower in Burlington. At 10:45 p.m., a call made to Denise Swaggerty went through a Pingree Grove cell tower, and at 11:12 p.m. Swaggerty called an unidentified number that went through a South Elgin cell tower.
Villarreal also testified he and Swaggerty drove to an Elgin bar after leaving Middlekauff.
The state rested its case Tuesday morning; defense attorney Jason Kopec then called several law enforcement officers as witnesses. Kopec asked a couple of them about interviewing a man named John Stark, who Kopec said during his opening argument also purchased marijuana from Mason, owed him more money than Swaggerty did and had threatened to kill Mason.
DeKalb Police Det. Michael Stewart said he did not personally interview Stark, but he had received information on him from interviews conducted in February and May 2005. Stewart couldn't recall when or by whom Stark would have been interviewed.
Glen Gustafson, a former detective with the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office, told Kopec that Stark was interviewed Feb. 10, 2005, but Gustafson said he wasn't aware if other detectives questioned him after that. Det. Jeremy Grubbs with the sheriff's office said he was present for the Feb. 10 interview with Stark, but he did not know if Stark was interviewed again.
Kopec also asked Gustafson about interviewing Mason, who testified last week that officers refused to let him seek medical attention in the hours after the home invasion, forcing him to answer questions first. A video interview showed Gustafson offering to take Mason to the hospital and conduct the interview afterward, but Mason decided to do the interview first.
Kopec asked sheriff's deputy Bill Kaminski about Villarreal's story changing at various interviews. Kaminski said Villarreal said the incident was about a car during his original statement, provided differing accounts of his physical location during the incident and said he did not know a gun was involved during one interview.
The trial is scheduled to resume today at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore.