Jefferson Co., Ill. (ECWd) –
We requested certain records from the Jefferson County Sheriff after news of the arrest of Nason, Illinois, Mayor Michelle McKinney. Initially, they only provided us with the mug shot and said they would not provide the other requested records until their State’s Attorney tells them it’s OK to release.
Well, we got the requested records yesterday, and it appears there are a lot of questions raised in this matter.
For starters, all the records received can be downloaded at this link. Note that all the redactions were done by us, as the Sheriff’s office did not redact anything. The redactions were for private information that included Judges’ signatures, State’s attorneys’ signature, driver’s license numbers, names of witnesses, and other private information.
We provided the redacted version to the Sheriff along with some suggestions for future FOIA responses.
While the charges McKinney faces are pretty straightforward, possession of a stolen vehicle and obstruction, the search warrant has an area authorized to be searched that makes no sense, “all rooms, attics, basements, and all other parts therein..”.
Can anyone provide any logical reasons that a search warrant that is focused on finding a stolen vehicle would include searching rooms of a house, an attic, and a basement?
One of the other points of interest is the State’s Attorney’s question in regard to how the victim’s sister, Michelle McKinney, got the truck titled to her in October of 2010. Reading the police report, it appears the only way a title could have been put in their name when it was not theirs to win would be forgery.
The police reports point to McKinney and her boyfriend having a problem telling the truth, as it indicates they both lied about matters directly related to the truck and its location, past and present.
We wonder if the boyfriend is also going to face obstruction of justice charges for his alleged participation in the matter.
In our initial coverage of this matter in this article, we reported that McKinney had been muzzled during the arrest. That was based on the photo provided to us by people who witnessed the event. The Sheriff has now issued a statement that she was not muzzled.
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3 Comments
Jack Tarleton
Posted at 15:26h, 25 AprilCan anyone provide any logical reasons that a search warrant that is focused on finding a stolen vehicle would include searching rooms of a house, an attic, and a basement?
Sure. I think the key to the answer is “indicia.’ They are looking not just for the truck but for information or other indicators of where the truck might be and who might have it. This is a catchall that requests authorization from the judge to investigate and potentially seize anything they might find other than the truck that might lead them to find the truck or lead them to arrest any person that stole or concealed it.
Dee Miller
Posted at 08:56h, 25 AprilYou forgot to redact the name of the Judge issuing the search warant….
Kirk Allen & John Kraft
Posted at 10:43h, 25 AprilWe did not “forget” to redact the name of the Judge. His name is not something subject to a redaction. He is a public official not a private person.