[Peace-discuss] Indictment in death of Kelly Wilson

[David Green]

Below are two recent articles, as well as my own from 2016, regarding the
death of Kelly Wilson in Decatur on May 7, 2016.

The original incident in Mahomet resulted in the killing in downstate
Illinois of Dracy Pendleton, who allegedly attacked a police officer
(Jeremy Scharlow), resulting in the over-reaction of the ISP officer in
Decatur who gave chase after Pendleton. The original confrontation, while
clearly controversial in light of Scharlow's history (including his history
with Pendleton), resulted in nothing more than Scharlow being awarded his
pension (
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2018-04-14/former-mahomet-officer-shot-job-awarded-disability-pension.html
).

*November 21, 1018*

*2016 ACCIDENT** ALLEGED RECKLESS HOMICIDE*

*Trooper charged in fatal crash*

By MARY SCHENK

mschenk at news-gazette.com

DECATUR — An Illinois State Police trooper who caused the death of a
Decatur woman as he pursued a fleeing suspect in a Mahomet shooting two
years ago has been criminally charged.

State Appellate Prosecutor Ed Parkinson on Tuesday filed a single count
of reckless homicide against Jeffrey Denning, 50, alleging that
Denning’s excessive speed on May 7, 2016, caused the death of Kelly Wilson.

The case was filed in Macon County Circuit Court because the crash happened
in Decatur near the intersection of Oakland and Harrison streets.

A summons has been sent to the now-retired master sergeant to make his
initial appearance in court on the Class 3 felony charge on Dec. 21.

If convicted, Denning faces penalties ranging from probation to two to five
years in prison.

Given the facts, Parkinson said reckless homicide was the most serious
felony that could have been filed against Denning.

The crash happened in Decatur about 11 p.m., moments after Dracy “Clint”
Pendleton shot Mahomet police Officer Jeremy Scharlow in Champaign County.

Pendleton sped off from the shooting scene in Mahomet, and a police
dispatch went out alerting officers that he was headed to Interstate 72.

Denning, 45 miles away in Decatur, heard the dispatch, reported he was
headed to the interstate in his unmarked squad car, then moments later
struck the Honda Odyssey van that had turned into his path.

Ms. Wilson, a mother of two, was killed; Denning was seriously injured.

Pendleton died a week later in a standoff with police in southern Illinois.
Scharlow recovered from a bullet wound to his arm but no longer works as a
police officer.

Police reconstruction reports said Denning had been traveling 108 mph in a
35-mph zone just before the crash and an estimated 85 mph when he struck
the van.

Parkinson said the charge alleges that Denning was driving over 100 mph
in a 35-mph zone, “which was greater than reasonable and proper with regard
to the safety of persons on the roadway given its urban location within the
city of Decatur and the lack of an immediate need for excessive speed when
he was responding to an emergency over 40 miles away in Mahomet.”

Further, the charge states, Denning was not using his siren, which led to
the fatal collision.

Although an investigation revealed that Ms. Wilson had been drinking, had
cannabis byproducts in her system and had sent text messages moments before
the collision, the lawyer for her family, Tim Shay of Decatur, said earlier
that she was not texting or on the phone at the time of impact.

State police found Denning was not using his phone then either.

Last year, Shay filed a suit against the state, state police and Denning in
the Illinois Court of Claims. It is unresolved.

Parkinson said his office — the state’s attorney appellate prosecutor— has
had the case since the fall of 2016. He said the accident
reconstructionists took several months to finish their work before the case
was sent to his agency.

Asked why it took so long to file the criminal charge, Parkinson said: “I
don’t have a good reason for that. I’ve been looking at it the last two to
three months.”



*November 21, 1018*

*Victim’s father: ‘It’s been a long time coming’*

FAMILY’S REACTION

By MARY SCHENK

mschenk at news-gazette.com

Leo Wilson said his family will have something to actually give thanks for
this week, knowing the man responsible for his daughter’s death is being
held accountable.

Contacted Tuesday, the Decatur businessman said he was “super happy”
to hear that the state’s attorney appellate prosecutor had filed a criminal
charge of reckless homicide against Jeffrey Denning, 50, a now-retired
state trooper whose allegedly excessive speed is blamed for the crash that
killed Wilson’s youngest daughter, Kelly Wilson, 26.

“At 2½ years, it’s a long time coming. He should have been arrested that
night,” said Wilson, who runs his own garage.

“We lost the most precious thing in our life, our little girl, over
somebody’s stupidity.”

“What would make a man think he could drive 110 mph in a 35 zone to go to
Mahomet?” the father of five asked incredulously.

“He could have killed a whole family,” said Wilson, grateful that his
granddaughters were not with their mother.

Ms. Wilson left behind two daughters, now ages 4 and 10. One lives with an
aunt, the other with her father.

“They’re both doing pretty good,” he said.

Since his daughter’s death on May 7, 2016, Wilson and his family have been
troubled that the Illinois State Police did the investigation of a crash
involving one of their own.

“It’s time we get a little justice. I didn’t have much faith in the
justice system for a while. They did their own investigation. This little
group don’t deserve to wear a badge. These are supposed to be grown men.
They are not supposed to be the criminals. They’re supposed to be the law,”
he said.

“This guy made that decision that evening to drive like he did with no
respect for anybody’s else’s life,” he said.

Wilson said Denning has had more than two years to prepare for this day,
including healing from injuries he sustained, moving to an office job, then
retiring at the end of May 2018.

“He’s had all this time to get his life in order before this happened. We
didn’t have five minutes,” he said.

“We think about it by the minute.”



*Sunday Extra: Regarding the death of Kelly Wilson*

*Top of Form*

*Bottom of Form*

*Sun, 06/26/2016 - 6:00am | The News-Gazette*

*By David Green*

On the evening of Saturday, May 7, a controversial altercation in Mahomet
between a police officer and Dracy "Clint" Pendleton led to a gunfight,
after which Pendleton fled toward I-72. Pendleton died a week later in the
midst of a shoot-out in southern Illinois.

As a result of the police chase for Pendleton, a motorist in Decatur was
killed in a crash later that evening. That motorist was Kelly Wilson of
Decatur, a 26-year-old single mother of two young daughters, who worked at
Panera Bread. Wilson was making a left turn onto the road on which Illinois
State Police Lieutenant Jeff Denning was speeding north in response to the
call to pursue Pendleton. He was seriously injured, but is recovering.

On June 15, The News-Gazette reported an inquest finding that "Denning's
unmarked squad car had its lights and siren activated and was traveling 108
mph just before the crash and 85 mph at impact."

According to The News-Gazette, Macon County Coroner Michael Day also
stated: "Wilson had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.094%, which is over
the limit for an Illinois driver to be presumed intoxicated." He also said
that she had "marijuana byproducts in her system."

The fatal collision was judged by the coroner's jury to be "accidental."
But it should be noted that at 108 miles per hour, a car travels the length
of a football field in less than 2 seconds. It would be difficult for an
ordinary motorist to instantly judge that speed, especially in the dark.
The Wilson family lawyer is filing a wrongful-death lawsuit.

A commenter on the News-Gazette website stated: "Driving 108 MPH on a city
street to 'pursue' a suspect 45 miles away is absurdly reckless."

Another commenter observed: "I can't fathom how that rate of speed could
possibly be within allowable limits even when pursuing a suspect. You
should not be allowed to jeopardize the rest of the public's safety, even
if you're all jacked up about catching the cop-shooter."

The public is left with at least two issues in relation to this tragic
incident. The first concerns the implication that Kelly Wilson is somehow
being blamed for her death. The second concerns the appropriateness of
high-speed chases, especially on city streets.

At a broader level, concerned citizens might question a hyper-reactive and
empowered mentality among police officers upon hearing of an attack on one
of their own. Our culture has accorded a unique status to attacks on police
which may have led in this case to unnecessarily high-risk behavior. Both
police "thin blue line" culture and the broader culture need to be
critically examined in this light.

In our high-tech and hyper-surveilled era, fleeing suspects are inevitably
located. This is no longer the era of John Dillinger. I would suggest —
with all due respect to the emotional challenges of police work — that
measured and deliberate patience during the apprehension process, rather
than enraged panic, should be the mentality with which police are trained
to approach such situations.
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