West Suburban Bureau

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) ― Former Bolingbrook police sergeant Drew Peterson appeared in court Friday, on charges that he killed his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Peterson, 55, appeared for an arraignment at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet in the early afternoon. The hearing was continued until May 18, and Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow said he expected Peterson's defense to ask for a change of venue.

Glasgow said he wouldn't play into Peterson's hands. "I've made a concerted effort to stay out of the media in this case, and I'm going to continue to do so," he told reporters.

Wearing a red jail jumpsuit, Peterson arrived at the courthouse at 1:05 p.m., in one of a fleet of transport vans that pulled out of a door in the Will County Jail and traveled a short distance down a ramp to the courthouse.

Peterson then exited through the back of the van, flanked by two correctional officers. He was in bound shackles. He looked up at a line of camera crews on the ledge above as the correctional officers led him into the courthouse building.

He told reporters he was getting "three squares a day" and joked about his "spiffy outfit" and his "bling."

The color of his jumpsuit indicates his location in the jail. Red means he is in protective custody, according to Will County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Pat Berry.

Being in protective custody means that during his 1 1/2 hours of free time daily, Peterson is alone with no other inmates. His jail cell measures 6 by 9 feet, like all the others. Peterson's cell has a toilet, sink and private shower.

Before arriving at the courthouse Friday Peterson had breakfast with other inmates at the jail, including an egg, a bagel, yogurt, grits, bread and butter, and juice.

Peterson was arrested Thursday during a traffic stop shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday and is being held on $20 million bond. 

In an interview on the CBS Early Show in New York, Peterson attorney Joel Brodsky said his client would plead not guilty. 

Brodsky appeared on three network morning news programs, including the CBS Early Show, on Friday morning to defend his client.

"I still believe that we've got to look at the case calmly, coldly and factually," Brodsky told The Early Show's Maggie Rodriguez. "There's no evidence to support a homicide charge."

Savio was found dead in a dry bathtub in her home on March 1, 2004. Her death was originally ruled an accident, but was reclassified as a homicide after her body was exhumed for a new autopsy, following the disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, in October 2007.

He was his usual wisecracking self as Illinois State Police took him into custody Thursday afternoon.

"I guess I should have returned those library books," he quipped.

CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli spoke with Peterson earlier Thursday. Asked if he was ready for the arrest, Peterson answered he's been ready for the past 18 months but didn't look forward to it.

"Doesn't sound like a party," Peterson said. 

Brodsky issued a statement that called his client's $20 million bond "incredibly excessive."

But CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller said it is typical for the kind of case in which Peterson is charged.

Brodsky insisted that Savio's death was proven to be an accident beyond any reasonable doubt in the initial autopsy, and there had never been a homicide at all.

Brodsky said despite the quips, Peterson is taking the arrest seriously.

"With 30 years as a policeman, the way he reacts to pressure is with comedy. He's done this even when he's been involved with a hostage crisis as a SWAT officer. He reverts to comedy and wisecracking in order to deal with very serious issues," Brodsky said. "That's just who he is, and that's just how he does it."

Another Peterson attorney, Andrew Abood, told CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez that in some ways he's happy the case is moving forward.

"It's very difficult to defend against rumor and innuendo. Now he's got an opportunity to prove his innocence."

Abood also said if Peterson's defense team can't win a change of venue, he's not sure any case could get one. This is because of the extreme publicity that has surrounded the case.

Illinois State Police say they followed more than 1,000 leads in the 18 months they have been investigating the case. They said they had Peterson's children in mind when they finally moved in for an arrest.

"Our utmost most concerns were the well-being of the children," said Illinois State Police Capt. Carl Dobrich. "We knew that three of the children were home. We did not want to alarm them. We were hoping once we had the warrant in hand, he would be out and about."

Drew Peterson had two children with Savio and two with Stacy Peterson. Those children have been living in Peterson's Bolingbrook home along with the children of his current on-again, off-again girlfriend, Christina Raines.

Children at Peterson's Bolingbrook home Thursday reportedly were taken into the care of the state's child welfare agency.

Prosecutors say they may seek to use statements used by Savio before her death in Peterson's trial.

"We're going to do our very best to prosecute this case successfully," Glasgow said.

Peterson faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted.

The question remains as to what evidence prosecutors have found to connect Peterson to the Savio murder.

The arrest has been expected for some time. State police put out a news release long ago that they would be making an arrest in the Savio case, and that they did not believe Stacy Peterson left her family voluntarily.

While Illinois State Police have described Stacy's disappearance as a "potential homicide," Peterson has always maintained that Stacy ran off voluntarily with another man. Peterson is also a suspect in that case.

In the time since he has been in the spotlight, Peterson has courted media attention on a regular basis, making several appearances on network morning news and talk shows and proclaiming his innocence. In early 2008, Peterson even planned to appear on a dating game on Steve Dahl's radio show, although Dahl later canceled the stunt.

Most recently, Peterson was offered a role in the HBO reality show "Cathouse," which follows the lives of sex workers at the Moonlite BunnyRanch brothel in Nevada, and features explicit sex scenes. Besides the "Cathouse" series, BunnyRanch owner Dennis Hoff said he has proposed hiring Peterson to head the brothel's security detail.

Before Peterson was arrested, BunnyRanch owner Dennis Hoff said Peterson was invited to spend the upcoming weekend at the brothel to discuss Hoff's job offers. But HBO spokeswoman Tobe Becker later said the network wanted nothing to do with Peterson.

Peterson quit the Bolingbrook Police Department shortly after Stacy's disappearance.

CBS 2's Mike Parker, Suzanne Le Mignot and Don Schwenneker contributed to this report.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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