Will County prosecutors object to motion to dismiss Elwood murder case over missing police notes

Prosecutors called a defense request for the dismissal of an Elwood murder case over a detective’s missing field notes an “extreme sanction” when less severe options would be more appropriate.

Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak on Aug. 1 may consider a defense motion for the dismissal of the case against Derrell Draper, 42, of Joliet, who is charged with first-degree murder in the Feb. 26, 2021, homicide of Robert Bigger, 30, of Shorewood.

Draper’s attorneys contend that field notes from Channahon Police Chief Adam Bogart, one of the detectives on Draper’s case, could have shed light on a key evidence issue in the case.

But those notes have either been lost or destroyed, and a “proportionate remedy” should be the dismissal of the case, Draper’s attorneys argued.

“The dismissal of the incident in this case would be an extreme sanction. There is no evidence the notes of [Bogart] were intentionally destroyed,” Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Fitzgerald said in a court filing July 16.

Fitzgerald said Bogart turned over his notes at the Elwood Police Department along with other investigators. The department turned over investigators’ notes to the state’s attorney’s office, Fitzgerald said.

“Those notes appear to have been misplaced or lost at the Elwood Police Department. Given that the notes of other investigators and officers were preserved and provided to [the state’s attorney’s office], it makes no sense that Bogart’s notes were destroyed,” Fitzgerald said.

Bogart and the Elwood Police Department have conducted “thorough searches” for those notes but have not found them, Fitzgerald said.

The missing notes covered Bogart’s conversation with Draper’s girlfriend.

“Bogart said the notes were an account of the events regarding what [Draper’s girlfriend] told him about her previous 24 hours, which was [Feb. 26, 2021],” Fitzgerald said.

But Draper’s attorneys contend that those notes could shed light on the issue of whether Draper’s girlfriend consented to officers searching her apartment.

The search led to officers finding a firearm and other evidence that prosecutors claim link Draper to Bigger’s homicide, Draper’s attorneys said.

Draper’s girlfriend told a grand jury that she did not consent to the search, but Bogart said he witnessed her sign a consent form for the search, Fitzgerald said.

Draper’s attorneys filed a motion to suppress evidence, which claimed a handwriting specialist found the signature on the form did not belong to Draper’s girlfriend.

Fitzgerald said everything in Bogart’s notes were documented in his report, and there was nothing in the report regarding the issue of whether Draper’s girlfriend gave consent for the apartment search.

“Bogart’s signature is on the written consent to search form as a witness to [Draper’s girlfriend] signing that form,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald recommends that instead of dismissing the indictment against Draper, the judge could block Bogart’s testimony at trial or place limits on his testimony.