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Peterson waives right to preliminary hearing

Posted March 02, 2015 10:00 pm

By Pete Spitler The Herald Tribune

CHESTER -- Back in court on Tuesday on murder-for-hire charges, Drew Peterson waived his right to a preliminary hearing in front of Judge Richard A. Brown and entered a plea of not guilty at the Randolph County Courthouse.

"From the prosecution's standpoint, the investigation is nearly complete," said Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker during the hearing.

Walker said the state will issue a subpoena to the Department of Corrections for all call logs and other information as it pertains to the master file of "Individual A," the identity of whom is filed under seal at the Circuit Clerk's office.

"We're doing everything we can to keep his identity secret to the public," Walker said in a phone interview with the Herald Tribune after the hearing.

Wearing a white shirt with black pants and sporting a close-cropped haircut and black, thick-framed glasses, Peterson, 61, was not handcuffed as he sat next to his court-appointed attorney, Lucas Liefer out of the Red Bud law firm Cooper and Liefer.

Peterson occasionally glanced at the jury box, which was occupied by roughly a dozen members of the local and state media. Cassandra Cales, who is the sister of Peterson's missing fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, also attended the hearing.

Peterson is due back in court for a case management conference on April 14 at 10 a.m. Both Walker, who is co-prosecuting the case with the Attorney General's office, and Liefer, have agreed to attempt to try the case during the county's July jury availability.

Available weeks are July 13 and 20.

"Everyone is of the belief and the intent that we'll try this case in July," Walker said during the phone interview. "I can't guarantee it will happen, but it is more than possible."

Court documents allege Peterson requested Individual A to find a person to kill Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow, who prosecuted Peterson's original murder trial, in exchange for payment.

"I don't want to comment specifically about this case, but generally speaking, when someone is listed in the charging documents, it's pretty much guaranteed they're going to have to testify," Walker said in the phone interview, when asked if Individual A could be called to testify during the trial.

The state filed a discovery protective order on Tuesday seeking to prevent the defense counsel from releasing "sensitive information" to the public or the media that may jeopardize the health and safety of "Individual A," as well as future investigations.

"We didn't want this case tried before it a jury is ever impaneled," said Liefer in a brief news conference held after the hearing.

Liefer said he believes Peterson will get a fair trial in Randolph County.

"I do, absolutely," he said. "It's Randolph County. I've never had a problem with a fair trial in Randolph County."

The Randolph County State's Attorney's Office also filed a notice of the use of an eavesdropping device in regard to Peterson.

The eavesdropping device transaction states an application for judicial authorization of its use was approved on October 23, 2014 for a period of time between October 20, 2014 and November 23, 2014.

On November 20, an extension was approved to use the device until December 22.

"During the time periods described above, an eavesdropping device was used to overhear and record various conversations," the notice stated.

Liefer said during the news conference that he has not gotten the discovery of that material yet.

"I know as much as everybody else knows and what Drew and I have discussed," he said. "That's basically all I can say."

Walker said in the phone interview that the defense will receive the discovery by the end of the week.

"The next immediate step would be tendering all the evidence to Mr. Liefer, which we are real close to being in the position to do," he said. "We're going to get that flowing as soon as possible."

On Feb. 9, a two-count indictment was filed by Walker and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan charging Peterson with solicitation of murder for hire and solicitation of murder, both Class X felonies.

Media attention on the case resumed with a fervor on Feb. 25 after it became known that Peterson's former attorney, Joel Brodsky, received two letters - dated Jan. 15 and Feb. 16 - from a Stateville Correctional Center inmate, Adrian Gabriel.

Brodsky posted copies of the letters, which reportedly came in the same envelope, to his business page on Facebook.

He wrote in a post that he did not receive them until Feb. 20, 11 days after Peterson appeared in Randolph County court on the charges.

The letters alleged a set-up and entrapment plot by Gabriel and his former cellmate, Antonio Smith - who allegedly befriended Peterson during a previous six-month incarceration at Menard.

Gabriel's Feb. 16 letter alleges that Smith stood up for Peterson when "someone was mistreating him" and after that, they became "really good friends."

In early February, there were allegations made by Peterson's attorney, Steve Greenberg, that his client was having problems with the guards and prisoners at Menard.

In an emailed response to the Herald Tribune, then-Illinois Department of Corrections Spokesman Tom Shaer wrote there was an allegation by Peterson last year of "a minor, non-physical situation."

Shaer, whose last day as spokesman was Feb. 20, wrote that there were no witnesses to that incident.

"Offender Peterson's allegation was thoroughly investigated and found to be completely without merit," Shaer wrote.

Gabriel's letters allude to a collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in return for his trial transcripts and money "to keep my mouth shut," but the deal changed when Smith was allegedly sent back to Menard to "get the recorded evidence against Mr. Peterson."

Gabriel, meanwhile, was placed in segregation at Stateville with "no pen/paper, no phone and no visits."

At that point, Gabriel apparently began writing Greenberg, about the plot. After not receiving a desired response from Greenberg, Gabriel wrote the letters to Brodsky.

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