Family attorney, prosecutor trade barbs a year after Carol Stream police shooting

A year after Isaac Goodlow III was shot to death by a Carol Stream police officer called to a domestic dispute, his family and their lawyers continue to say an injustice has been done.

“We need Carol Stream police held accountable for what they did to Isaac,” Kennetha Barnes, Goodlow's sister, said at a news conference held on the Feb. 3 anniversary of the shooting.

She and Goodlow’s mother, Bonnie Pigram, have filed a federal lawsuit against the village and the police officers involved. They allege officers unlawfully entered his apartment without a warrant and used excessive force in the deadly shooting.

Family attorney Steven Hart called the village's account of the shooting 100% false and has accused the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office of making false statements about the killing.

“They don't prosecute police in this county. They made up facts,” he said.

State’s Attorney Robert Berlin fired back when asked about those comments.

“My decision not to prosecute the officers involved was based on evidence, facts and applicable laws,” he said. “All findings from the investigation have been released, unaltered, to the public and are available to the public on the Village of Carol Stream’s website.

“Mr. Hart has every right to discuss the civil case he has filed on behalf of Mr. Goodlow’s family,” Berlin added. “He has no right however, to make distorted, baseless and outright false claims to advance that case and no basis to question the integrity of myself and my office.”

Authorities say the shooting occurred in the early morning hours of Feb. 3, 2024, after Goodlow's girlfriend called police to report she’d been attacked.

Police say they tried to contact Goodlow inside his apartment for about 50 minutes, including banging on a window. When the girlfriend gave them permission to go in, officers entered in a tactical formation.

Goodlow was shot several seconds later when, authorities said, he stepped out from behind a door and raised a bent arm.

Pigram insists police body-camera video viewed by the family shows Goodlow was in bed when he was shot.

A statement from Berlin disputes that, saying there was no blood found on Goodlow’s bedding.

The family also maintains Goodlow’s girlfriend had no right to authorize police to enter the apartment, because she was not named on its lease.

Lawyers for the family and the village are still arguing over deposing the officers, and whether the plaintiffs can view unredacted copies of documents from a village-hired attorney’s internal investigation of the shooting.

No peeking, court says

Roselle police officers went to a townhouse Oct. 9, 2017, to help firefighters check out a reported gas leak.

They found the leak, but that's not all.

Spotting a 1-inch opening in a chained and locked kitchen cabinet door, officers peeked inside and found suspicious items that turned out to be marijuana and 37 bags containing residue of heroin, fentanyl and cocaine, court records show.

More than six years later — after townhouse occupant Casey Robert Hagestedt was convicted on a felony drug charge and sentenced to 6 months in jail — the state's highest court has thrown out the case.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled unanimously last week that police conducted an unconstitutional search and reversed Hagestedt's conviction for unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

Prosecutors argued before the court that officers didn't conduct a search at all. They just spotted suspicious items “in plain view” through the open gap between the cabinet and cabinet door, they said.

Justices weren't buying it, however. They noted that after seeing the cabinet door slightly ajar, officers pried it open further and used a flashlight to snoop inside.

“While the cabinet itself was in plain view, its contents were not. The cabinet was secured with a chain and a padlock, and the chain was wrapped tightly around the cabinet handles,” Justice Mary Kay O'Brien wrote in the 8-0 decision.

Guard your heart

A little hubba-hubba is good for you. But this Valentine’s Day, watch out for people who will not only break your heart, but empty your wallet and steal your identity.

The Better Business Bureau says reports of romance scams are surging.

Most start with fake profiles on online dating sites created by scammers stealing photos and text from real accounts. Targets may see a good-looking, intelligent, funny person online. The person claims to live in another part of the country or overseas, but seems smitten and eager to know you. They suggest moving the relationship to email or a chat app.

They then learn about your life, and build trust. They start to request small favors, to test the waters and then an “emergency” pops up that requires your financial assistance. They’ll promise to pay you back, but instead just ask for more and more.

“A person can lose thousands of dollars, and they’re often left feeling betrayed because they believed they’d found a good partner,” Bernas said.

To avoid a broken bank with your broken heart, the BBB recommends: Don’t give money or personal information to a stranger; do a reverse-image search of any photos they post in their profile; research dating websites before you sign up; and if someone wants to get serious very quickly without first meeting in person, that’s a red flag.

If you have encountered a scam, even if you didn’t lose money, report it to BBB Scamtracker.

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