Feds order deputies to hand over cell phone records in abuse case

A group of McHenry County Sheriff's deputies sued over allegations they used excessive force while arresting an elderly man and his wife in 2008 must turn over their private cell phone records to the couple's lawyer, a federal court has ordered.

U.S. Magistrate Judge P. Michael Mahoney ruled that the attorney for Jerome and Carla Pavlin can inspect the cell phone records of seven current and former sheriff's deputies from 7:30 p.m. March 14, 2008 - the night of the arrests - until noon the next day.

The couple's attorney, Lawrence Jackowiak, argued in court documents seeking the records that they could show deputies went out of their way in the hours after the incident to speak about it on their private lines, instead of using the sheriff's radio system that records conversations.

"(The records are) relevant to show that the defendant-officers were communicating to each other over their private phones to get their stories straight," Jackowiak states.

The deputies' attorney, Stephen Balogh, opposed the release of the records, arguing that it is not uncommon for deputies to communicate over their cell phones, and the fact they may have is not evidence of wrongdoing.

"What is absent is any evidence, other than the plaintiff's self-serving contrary testimony, that anything in the (police reports) is falsified or erroneous," Balogh said in court documents.

The Pavlins, formerly of Nunda Township, are suing the deputies and McHenry County over claims the officers illegally entered their home, beat them, then conspired to cover up their actions.

However, an Illinois State Police investigation of the incident cleared the deputies of any unlawful acts.

According to sheriff's reports, deputies went to the Pavlin home on the 5200 block of Rita Avenue near Crystal Lake to arrest their adult son on a domestic battery charge. Authorities say the son, Carl Pavlin, answered the door and then slammed it shut when he learned the deputies were there to arrest him.

Deputies followed him into the home where, sheriff's police said, they encountered Carl Pavlin's 80-year-old father, Jerome, and 65-year-old mother, Carla. Jerome Pavlin, sheriff's police said, spat in the eye of Deputy Kyle Mandernack. When Mandernack tried to arrest him, Carla Pavlin jumped on the deputy's back, according to official reports.

Both Pavlins were charged with aggravated battery to a police officer and resisting arrest, but McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi dismissed the cases in July, citing multiple legal and evidentiary problems.

According to the Pavlins' lawsuit, deputies Mandernack, Ryan Lambert and Trevor Vogel beat Jerome Pavlin after entering his home. When Carla Pavlin tried to stop them, the suit alleges, the deputies threw her against a granite countertop. Jerome Pavlin was treated and released after the altercation, but Carla Pavlin was hospitalized for several days for treatment of a back condition aggravated during the incident.