Ex-cops guilty in Fox Lake bar beating, get time served
A pair of former police officers charged in a 2005 off-duty beating that left a man hospitalized with severe facial injuries struck a deal with McHenry County prosecutors today, ending a 3½-year legal saga that saw the award-winning officers spend nearly two months behind bars.
Under the deal, onetime Spring Grove officers Ronald L. Pilati and Jerome Volstad each were found guilty of attempted unlawful restraint, a misdemeanor, for their roles in the altercation outside a Fox Lake bar and were sentenced to 54 days in jail, time they already have served.
In return, prosecutors dismissed multiple felony charges against each, including mob action, aggravated battery, unlawful restraint and obstructing justice.
Pilati, 36, of Melrose Park, and Volstad, 43, of Cary, smiled and hugged their attorneys as they left court today. Both declined to comment on the agreement.
In a joint statement, the McHenry County State's Attorney's office and the former officers' defense lawyers said the deal was in the best interest of everyone involved, including beating victim Ryan Hallett.
"Several factors were considered by both the prosecution and defense in reaching the agreed disposition," the statement reads. "One factor was the cost and expense of a lengthy jury trial, which was anticipated to last three weeks."
The statement goes on to say that even if a jury found both men guilty, they could not be sentenced to anything more than the 90 days in jail they received after the first trial.
Attorneys for both sides declined further comment.
Volstad, Pilati and former Richmond police officer Brian Quilici each were charged with multiple felonies in connection with the Feb. 20, 2005, beating in the parking lot of KC's Cabin in Fox Lake.
Authorities said that after a verbal dispute inside the tavern, the three ex-cops surrounded Hallett outside the bar, forced him into handcuffs and repeatedly punched and kicked him. Hallett, 28, of Wisconsin, suffered a fractured eye socket and other facial injuries.
Quilici, 36, of Lisle, was found guilty of aggravated battery, mob action, official misconduct and obstructing justice and sentenced to two years in prison. He has since been released.
At their trial last year, Volstad and Pilati testified they restrained Hallett only after he pulled a knife on them and then grabbed a woman who had tried to play peacemaker, holding the knife against her throat.
A jury found them guilty in November, but Judge Joseph Condon ordered a new trial in March after learning that prosecutors had not turned over to defense lawyers a written statement Hallett had prepared in connection with Quilici's case.