Special county prosecutor assigned to Cantrell case
COURTS: Father, son accused of interfering in OWI arrest of family member
NWI Times
May 28, 2006
nwitimes.com/news/local/special-county-prosecutor-assigned-to-cantrell-case/article_968fbf39-bbb0-5445-940d-716d149e4397.html
Based on a recommendation from Indiana State Police, Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter has requested a criminal investigation into whether John and Robert Cantrell obstructed justice last year.
Hammond police administrators said the politically connected father and son may have tried to improperly intervene after Robert's daughter Jennifer Cantrell, 28, was arrested on drunken driving charges.
State police Detective Rick Bonesteel confirmed Friday that he investigated the concerns of the Hammond police and concluded there was evidence the men tried to obstruct justice or interfere with Jennifer Cantrell's arrest Nov. 15.
Diane Poulton, spokeswoman for the Lake County prosecutor, said the entire case file was transferred to a special prosecutor -- Benton County Prosecutor Jud Barce.
Although the Cantrell family has numerous political affiliations in Lake County government, Poulton could not comment on precisely why the case was transferred. Barce's role is to eventually decide whether to charge anyone with misdemeanor interference or felony obstruction.
The two suspects listed in the case file are John Cantrell and Robert Cantrell, he said.
Neither Cantrell returned calls for comment Friday, and neither has commented publicly on the incident.
Since the 1960s, Robert Cantrell has been involved in the inner workings of county and municipal governments. He has worked as a political operative and campaign adviser to scores of candidates, including his daughter, Lake Superior Court Judge Julie Cantrell.
His son, John Cantrell, is a defense attorney and former law partner of Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., who said he has not played a role in any part of the case.
In the early morning Nov. 15, Jennifer Cantrell was involved in a fender-bender near 169th Street and Kennedy Avenue. No one was injured, but the city police officer's field test determined Jennifer Cantrell had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.12. In Indiana, a person is considered intoxicated with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08.
Hammond police Cpl. Dan Kender later told investigators that he felt intimidated when John and Robert Cantrell came to the scene of the accident, but he arrested Jennifer Cantrell anyway and took her to the city jail for booking, Hammond Sgt. Michael Jorden has said.
At the station, John Cantrell made the unusual request of asking booking officer Cpl. John Peck for time to consult with Jennifer Cantrell, his client and sister, before she was formally tested for her alcohol concentration.
By the time she was tested, almost three hours had elapsed from the time that the crash took place. Indiana law says a person suspected of drunken driving must be tested on a certified analysis machine within three hours of when an officer had suspicion of probable cause.
Jennifer Cantrell was charged in city court with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and Police Chief Brian Miller asked state police to investigate whether John or Robert Cantrell's actions constituted malfeasance.
"We just wanted to do the right thing," Miller said. "If something was there, something was there."
No comments:
Post a Comment