Chicago police officer recharged in fatal crash
A Chicago police officer was indicted Tuesday on charges of reckless homicide and felony drunken driving in a pre-dawn car crash last Thanksgiving that left two young men dead.
John Ardelean, 34, was indicted seven months after a judge dropped lesser charges against him, citing witnesses who claimed the five-year veteran officer didn't appear to be drunk at the time of the crash.
Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine's office issued a statement saying the decision to pursue new and tougher charges against Ardelean was made after "an exhaustive review of all the evidence by top supervisors in the state's attorney's office."
A spokesman for the state's attorney's office, John Gorman, declined to say what new evidence, if any, had been presented to the grand jury and whether it had been offered before Circuit Judge Donald Panarese dropped the earlier charges.
"I cannot discuss the evidence," Gorman said.
Police were said to have a surveillance video that shows Ardelean in a tavern shortly before the deadly crash.
The crash occurred at 3 a.m. Nov. 22 on a North Side street. It took the lives of Miguel Flores, 22, and Erick Lagunas, 21, both of suburban Cicero, who were riding in the other car. A third man who was with them was injured.
Ardelean's attorney, Thomas Needham, was not reached immediately for comment. A message was left on his answering machine.
After Panarese dropped the charges Feb. 8, Chicago police Superintendent Jody Weis said that Ardelean remained on desk duty and under investigation with his police powers suspended.
Ardelean initially was charged the morning of the crash with drunken driving, a misdemeanor. In January, the charges were toughened to two counts of aggravated driving under the influence, a felony. Those charges were dropped.
The indictment returned by a Cook County grand jury on Tuesday charged Ardelean with two counts of reckless homicide, which carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, and four counts of aggravated driving under the influence.
The state's attorney's office said that, because two people were killed, Ardelean could be sentenced to up to 28 years in prison if he's convicted.