Badges - Former cop gets a huge bond...from the Sun-Times.

From: CHK8093@xxxxxxx
To: TOPCOPS-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, badges@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Fri, 20 May 2011 10:16:29 -0400 (EDT)
 
Media having fun with this one, of course the  headline writer can't put 
former in the headline, but the reporter makes it his  first sentence.  I 
really hate the media in this town, but I do guess it is  worse in others. 
Chris Karney, Chicago IL 
========================================================================== 
Judge sets $1 million bond for cop in drug  case 
A former Chicago cop accused of conspiring with  murderous drug traffickers 
has been ordered free on $1 million bond to give him  the chance to go to 
church and prepare for trial. 
But prosecutors said Glenn Lewellen is a danger to  the community and filed 
a federal appeal Wednesday to overturn U.S. District  Judge Joan Gotschallâ??
s May 10 decision to grant him bond. 
Lewellen and his family have come up with the  property to post bond, but 
he remains behind bars. The judge has scheduled a  hearing Friday to decide 
whether to place him on home incarceration with  electronic monitoring as he 
awaits the outcome of the governmentâ??s appeal. 
Gotschall said she â??went back and forthâ?? before  deciding to release 
Lewellen on bond for racketeering and drug charges. A key  factor was testimony 
from his family and pastor that he turned to religion in  recent years. â??I 
would like Mr. Lewellen to have the ability to go to church and  become as 
involved with his pastor as he possibly can,â?? Gotschall said, adding  that 
bond 
would give him a â??reasonable opportunity to prepare for trial.â?? 
Prosecutors said Lewellen does not qualify for  bond because he committed 
violent acts, framed people, lied in court and said he  wanted to kill 
himself when he was arrested. He is a flight risk and a danger to  the 
community 
and himself, prosecutors said. 
In 1998, Lewellen, a narcotics officer, became  partners-in-crime with his 
informant, Saul Rodriguez, a narcotics trafficker,  prosecutors said. They 
and others committed kidnappings and ripoffs of drug  dealers, even after 
Lewellen left the department in 2002, prosecutors said. The  crew allegedly 
operated through 2006. 
In the governmentâ??s appeal of Lewellenâ??s bond,  prosecutors made a new 
allegation that he helped frame a man who angered  Rodriguez because the man 
â?? 
Juan Luevano â?? was dating Rodriguezâ??s ex-girlfriend.  In 2000, Rodriguez 
planted cocaine in Luevanoâ??s home and Chicago Police officers  arrested him 
based on a tip from Rodriguez. Rodriguez and another co-defendant  later 
murdered Luevano on June 3, 2000, prosecutors said. Rodriguez is charged  in 
Luevanoâ??s slaying, but Lewellen is not. 
The governmentâ??s appeal also indicated for the  first time that Lewellen 
helped kidnap a high-level member of a Mexican drug  cartel in 2003. Lewellen 
received more than $500,000 from a ransom the crew  collected, prosecutors 
said. 
When he was arrested in November in Las Vegas,  Lewellen allegedly told 
federal agents he would have killed himself if he had  the chance. In court 
papers, though, he denies he was  suicidal.

The Badges Law Enforcement Discussion Group - Est. 1997
Badges - Former cop gets a huge bond...from the Sun-Times.

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