Police Officer Testifies DUI Suspect Looked OK
Two Steger officers contradict the Chicago Heights officer testimony
Will County Sheriff
Cecil Conner, 22, has been charged with reckless homicide and driving under the influence for his role in a crash that killed a 5-year-old boy in Steger Monday morning.
The Chicago Heights police officer who gave car keys to a Steger man he claimed wasn't intoxicated before a deadly car crash is expected back in court Friday.
Officer Chris Felicetti testified Thursday about his May 10 encounter with Cecil Conner, who slammed into a tree killing his girlfriend's 5-year-old son, Michael LaFond Jr., the Chicago Tribune reports.
A recording revealed Felicetti, who was speaking with a Chicago Heights dispatcher, seemed surprised Conner got into a crash 40 minutes after he drove off.
"Are you serious?" Felicetti asks.
"Oh my God," he says. "(The driver) was all right when I turned it over to him."
The judge ruled the recording could not be played in the hearing to determine if Steger police had probable cause to arrest Conner.
Earlier Thursday, two Steger officers testified Conner looked intoxicated, spoke with slurred speech and passed out after the crash. Conner's blood alcohol content was almost three times the legal limit.
Conner's girlfriend, Kathie LaFond, picked up her boyfriend she claimed had been drinking. She was arrested for driving on a suspended license.
Jeff Tomczak, Conner's lawyer, reportedly said his client tried to call his friends to take over driving for him.
Tomczak claimed Conner only drove because he followed Officer Felicetti's orders.
Conner's trial is expected to begin next week on multiple aggravated drunk driving charges.
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