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Jul 30, 2008 4:34 pm US/Central
Judge Won't Dismiss Drew Peterson's Gun Charges
Peterson Was Charged Because Gun Barrel Was Too Short
JOLIET, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Drew Peterson leaves the Will County Courthouse in Joliet, after a judge refused to dismiss a firearms charge against him.
CBS
Drew Peterson was back in court today. His attorneys were trying to get a judge to drop felony weapons charges against the former Bolingbrook police officer. But as CBS 2's Susan Carlson reports, it didn't happen.
Drew Peterson waved to spectators as he was leaving the Will County courthouse today. He exited through a back door, according to the orders of security guards, who were trying to avoid a mob scene. He had nothing to say about the ruling.
The judge's decision not to dismiss weapons charges was a victory for prosecutors and it means the case will now have to go to trial.
As CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports, Judge Richard Schoenstedt says he couldn't find any case law that would justify dropping the charges even though Peterson was an officer at the time he had the guns.
A grand jury indicted Peterson on two felonies related to a semiautomatic rifle seized by authorities investigating the disappearance of his wife, Stacy. Authorities contend Peterson possessed an assault rifle with a barrel shorter than allowed by law.
Schoenstedt said Peterson was covered by the Law Enforcement Safety Officers Act and thus had the right to carry a concealed firearm. But he had an issue with the firearm in question in this case.
"Judge Schoenstedt is a very thoughtful and a very careful judge. We had every confidence that he was going to carefully consider the issues that were before him," said Will County State's Attorney's Office spokesman Charles Pelkie. "He did that, and we're looking forward to prosecuting this case and moving forward."
Peterson has been named a suspect in the Stacy's disappearance, and is also under investigation in the death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. He has not been charged with a crime in either case.
"Drew Peterson was a police officer," Pelkie said. "The defense argued there was a broad exemption for police officers. We obviously disagreed and the judge ruled today and now we're moving forward."
But Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, argued that Peterson did have the right to keep the gun as a police officer.
"Drew Peterson was a qualified officer, and this gun is covered by [the law]," Brodsky said. "The only reason that [the judge], according to his written decision, didn't rule in our favor – was that there were certain questions of fact that [were] looked at in the light most favorable to the prosecution."
The barrel of the weapon was 5 inches shorter than allowed by law. He said it was his secondary duty weapon.
"Under state law this is Drew's secondary duty weapon," Brodsky said. "He was approved to use it we have documents to show that. And under state law he was exempt from any barrel length restrictions."
And they're calling for a speedy trial.
"We don't want this thing to drag out," Brodsky said. "We want to go to trial. We'd be willing to go to trial as soon as we got the discovery."
Drew Peterson had no comment Wednesday. He is due back in court August 28th for a pre-trial hearing and with attorneys pushing to move this case forward; a trial is expected sometime in September.
The gun was seized from his house last fall, along with other weapons.
Peterson is still considered a suspect in his wife's disappearance, but hasn't been charged with anything related to that.
CBS 2's Susan Carlson, Joanie Lum and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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