Illegal search leads to charges being dropped

Charges were dropped Friday against a Schaumburg man found with a battery of homemade firecrackers and explosives.

Dominic Bender, 28, was arrested in November 2006 when police discovered the Internet-bought explosives in a duffel bag while serving an order of protection from his estranged wife.

The dismissal was not surprising, since most of the state's evidence had been thrown out in March by Cook County Judge John Scotillo.

Defense attorney Michael Krejci argued last month that Cook County sheriff's police conducted an illegal search by looking in the duffel bag.

Scotillo agreed and ruled the explosives inadmissible because the arrest warrant limited officers to searching for Bender inside the townhouse. Going through personal belongings was a violation, he said.

Bender, who was charged with unlawful possession of explosives and unlawful use of a weapon, was renting a room in a townhouse at 1802 Fenwick Circle.

Police entered the residence after discovering he had an outstanding arrest for telephone harassment.

Authorities also found 10 handguns, five rifles and four shotguns during the search, but Bender never faced gun-related charges.

However, charges of unlawful use of a weapon are still pending in McHenry County. The investigation in Schaumburg led police to find a 2-pound explosive device in his former house in Cary on Crest Drive, where his estranged wife and three children lived.

Nearby Prairie Hill Elementary School closed for the day and residents stayed indoors while a bomb squad removed the explosive material.