Defense seeks documents; Drew's lawyers focus on gun-case timeline

Authorities used "vindictive and selective" prosecution in their case against former Bolingbrook Police Sgt. Drew Peterson, his legal team argued in Will County Court on Wednesday.

Peterson, 54, is facing felony gun charges for allegedly possessing a modified assault rifle with a barrel of less than 16 inches. Authorities seized the rifle, along with other weapons, after search warrants were executed last November in the investigation into the Oct. 28, 2007, disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy.

But Peterson's attorney Joel Brodsky questioned the timeline of how the gun case unfolded. In February, police revoked Peterson's firearm owner's identification card after a judge ruled that his firearms should be returned because Peterson had a valid FOID card. In May, Peterson was arrested for owning the rifle on the eve of learning from the judge whether the guns could be turned over to his son Stephen, an Oak Brook police officer.

Brodsky is requesting that prosecutors turn over documents from the time leading up to the charges against his client.

"This timeline proves with more than sufficient evidence that the reason to do this is to punish Mr. Drew Peterson for exercising his constitutional rights," Brodsky said.
Peterson, who is the suspect in his missing wife's disappearance, has said she ran off. Authorities are also conducting a murder investigation in the 2004 death of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. Peterson maintains his innocence and has said he used the rifle as a SWAT team member for the Bolingbrook Police Department.

Will County Assistant State's Atty. Dede Osterberger argued against giving the defense "privileged information." "We strongly argue against this case, judge, because we think that the defense is engaging in a fishing expedition," she said.

Judge Richard Schoenstedt, who was battling a cold and losing his voice, said he would defer his ruling until the next scheduled hearing, on Nov. 20. In Springfield, the state Senate voted 55-0 on a bill that could affect a potential prosecution against Peterson in the case of either one of his wives.

The bill, which is backed by the Will County state's attorney's office, would allow a judge to admit hearsay evidence into court for first-degree murder cases if the prosecution could prove that the defendant killed a witness to prevent testimony.

The Senate vote accepted a change proposed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich that would allow the legislation to become effective as soon as the House, scheduled to meet next week, votes to go along.

Peterson's wives had told family and friends that they were fearful of Peterson. Stacy Peterson also told her minister that her husband had allegedly confessed to her that he killed Savio, according to the minister.