Suspect in death of DeKalb County Sheriff’s Deputy Christina Musil released from custody – NBC Chicago

A DeKalb County judge on Monday ordered the release of the man charged with reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence causing death in connection with the crash that killed a DeKalb County sheriff’s deputy, according to the Daily Chronicle newspaper.

Nathan P. Sweeney, 44, was arrested in the March 28 death of Deputy Christina Musil. Sheriff’s officials said Musil was sitting inside her vehicle, parked on the right shoulder of southbound Illinois Route 23, when a single-unit Kenworth truck sped away. the roadway for unknown reasons and struck his vehicle from behind.

Musil was rushed to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries and later pronounced dead.

During the investigation following the collision, officers determined that Sweeney was under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash, authorities said.

On Monday, in a hearing packed with Musil’s family and friends, Judge Marcy Buick of the 23rd Judicial Circuit Court cited Illinois’ SAFE-T law and the numbers she must consider to decide to detain someone before a trial, the newspaper reported.

“Under the new law, all defendants are presumed eligible for pretrial release,” the judge said. “(…) We have all learned over the last six months that these hearings are complicated. … Judges are required to uphold and apply the law.”

Sweeney was released from jail Monday afternoon, according to the Illinois Sheriff’s Association.

“Obviously, we are very disappointed that Sweeney was released despite the Dekalb County Prosecutor’s request for detention,” the association said in a statement.

The Daily Chronicle reported that Buick listed a host of conditions that Sweeney must follow during his release, including not operating a motor vehicle throughout the procedure and submitting to at least three random drug tests per week .

Prosecutors said blood tests, which reportedly showed several drugs were present in Sweeney’s system at the time of the crash, prove he intentionally got behind the wheel while under the influence, reported the newspaper. Deputy DeKalb County Prosecutor Scott Schwertley argued that any conditions Buick might set to ensure Sweeney cooperates with pretrial release would not be enough.

The pretrial fairness portion of the state’s controversial SAFE-T law took effect in September 2023 after months of legal challenges. The law allows judges to determine whether individuals charged with a specific set of violent crimes and misdemeanors pose a risk to another individual or to the community as a whole.

The list includes so-called “forcible crimes,” such as first- and second-degree murder, predatory criminal sexual assault, robbery, burglary, residential burglary, aggravated arson, kidnapping, aggravated battery resulting in serious bodily harm, or any other crime that involves the use or threat of physical violence.

Hate crimes, attempted custodial crimes, animal torture and drunk driving causing serious bodily injury were added to the list in a later amendment to the legislation.

As part of the measure, judges have also been asked to determine whether the accused poses a flight risk if released.