I was recently made aware that rumors are swirling through circles, including the legal profession, in Danville, Il regarding a trip Denny Davis and I made to Chicago to save a girl from dying at the hands of a Conservative Vice Lord in Danville. The record needs to be set straight lest inaccurate and false accounts of what really happened and why be circulated.
In 2008 a juvenile reported to me that she had been raped by an adult gang member in Danville. The gang member is a documented Conservative Vice Lord and was responsible for dealing large quantities of cocaine in Danville. The suspect threatened to kill the girl if she told police what happened. Needless to say she feared for her life but put her trust in the system, expecting the rapist to be brought to justice.
The suspect was arrested, only to be let go hours later under the authority of then-State's Attorney Frank Young. The suspect quickly moved to carry out his threat to kill the juvenile.
Within days I received information from a very reliable source of information that the rape suspect was planning to have the juvenile killed, and possibly her family, by wiring some type of incendiary device to a gas line in their house. The source had surreptitiously acquired possession of the device and wanted to turn it over to me to prevent the tragedy. The source was understandably fearful that if the gang found out of his cooperation with police he, himself, would be killed. There obviously was a sense of urgency surrounding the recovery of the device and the protection of the source, the rape victim, and possibly other innocent civilians.
There was just one catch with this entire scenario. The source had recovered the device from the would-be assassin in Chicago. He needed me to come there to retrieve the device. And it needed to be retrieved that day. It just so happened that when I received the call from the source of information I was at Denny Davis' residence doing some gang training. Denny heard me speaking with the source on the telephone and offered to go with me to Chicago if that's what we needed to do. Denny has extensive training with explosives and he also has contacts with the Chicago Police Department Gang Crimes Unit.
I had a decision to make. Just weeks earlier I was issued an order exclusive to me that I could not work with an outside agency without giving the heads of my department a 48 hour advance notice. The reason for this was quite clear. At that time I was working with the FBI on an investigation targeting a prosecutor with the Vermilion County State's Attorney's office. The prosecutor was allegedly committing drug related offenses and I had much information to support the allegations. The heads of my department were cozy with this prosecutor and State's Attorney Frank Young. They were not supportive of what I was doing and tried to handcuff me by issuing me this order.
The decision I had to make was a rather easy one. If I waited 48 hours to work with the Chicago Police Department people would likely be murdered. If I acted immediately I would most likely be able to save lives. It was a no brainer. Oh, I knew I would be in violation of the department's order but when faced with saving lives or following an order I would choose the former without a second thought.
I accepted Denny's offer to go with me. He personally knows some Chicago P.D. personnel and his training with explosives could prove beneficial. We're not talking about the average citizen when we speak of Denny Davis. He worked with the Illinois Department of Corrections for 30 years. He attained the rank of major and was their go-to gang man. He knows his business and he knows it well. His training and experience would prove to be life saving on this trip.
Denny and I drove to Chicago and, while enroute, made several attempts to get in touch with the people Denny knows. As we neared the city we had yet to make contact but I received a call from my source who was frantic. He was scared for his life and said if we could not meet him within 10 minutes he was going to get rid of the device. I dictated the meeting place which was a secure location just off of the expressway on the south side of Chicago. The source was to be alone. As we approached the location we observed the source complying with the directives given. We made contact and he displayed a device Denny immediately recognized to be a 3 inch titanium salute. The device was not dangerous as it was but could be if used improperly. We took the device from the source and departed the area.
We started back for Danville with the device while continuing our attempts to get ahold of the proper authorities. We subsequently made contact with the Chicago Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. We also contacted then-Assistant State's Attorney of Vermilion County, Randy Brinegar. Everyone we spoke with from these agencies commended our actions
We weren't done though. The person who was to use the device to murder the juvenile in Danville was still at large. We obtained information on where this hitman was hiding and informed the ATF. They, along with the Chicago Police Department, arrested him. He was immediately sent back to prison as the Illinois Department of Corrections wanted him also for parole violations.
The following day I informed my boss, a deputy director of police, of my actions and what was retrieved. He told me to call the bomb squad then he went home for the day. I called the University of Illinois Bomb Squad and informed them of what I had. They instructed me to drive it to a predetermined location to turn it over to them. The bomb squad member I met with took the device, threw it in the trunk of his car and drove off. He said that his team would destroy it.
The director of public safety for the City of Danville, Larry Thomason, took issue with what Denny and I did. He ordered me suspended without pay. Long story short, I filed a grievance in response to the punishment he handed out and I never served any suspension time.
So there you have it. These are the cold hard facts and I have documentation and physical evidence to support everything I have written. Of course the "what ifer's" came out of the woodwork after the ordeal and my only response to them is this, what if we had not acted. Lives would have been lost. Period. I upheld my oath and I am very grateful to Denny Davis for helping me. Law enforcement officers are expected to take calculated risks to protect the public. Had I not acted I would have been derelict. So for those of you who want to judge me, until you have walked a mile in my shoes, don't.
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