Former Lake County jail officers indicted over homeless man's death

Two former Lake County corrections officers were indicted Wednesday by a Lake County grand jury for official misconduct, authorities said.

The indictment against Rodney Holmes and Robert Schlesser centers on an incident in 2011 when a homeless man named Eugene Gruber was arrested by sheriff's deputies. Undersheriff Raymond J. Rose has previously said Gruber fought with the jail guards and one put Gruber in a takedown hold to restrain him.

The two fell to the ground, which is when officials believe Gruber suffered a spinal injury. He died a few months later.

An administrative audit of the incident was conducted and resulted in three firings, including those of Holmes and Schlesser, and disciplinary action against seven others, according to a Lake County sheriff's office news release.

The administrative audit had been sent to the Lake County state's attorney's office for criminal review but was passed on to the Illinois appellate prosecutor to avoid a potential conflict of interest. The Illinois appellate prosecutor pursued the case.

“Ultimately, the way Mr. Gruber was treated was not acceptable,” Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said. “Our office, and how we handled it, we allowed the light to shine in. We held people accountable.”

Warrants for Holmes and Schlesser were issued by Lake County Judge George Bridges with bail set at $75,000.

Rose, who was not appointed undersheriff until after Gruber's death, said, “When there is wrongdoing, the community expects there will be consequences.”

“This whole thing was distasteful from the beginning,” Rose said. “It's clear here that this was egregious behavior that took place. It was clear on the video what happened. It was clear to the community this is outrageous, and we cannot tolerate this by our employees.”

He said the appellate court prosecutor could take additional action.