Man charged in 2023 Elgin death could be released pretrial

A man accused of a 2023 murder in Elgin could be released pretrial.

Kane County Judge John Barsanti ruled Tuesday that Brandon Franklin, 18, be placed on electronic home monitoring. Now prosecutors and Franklin’s attorney are trying to figure out how to comply with the judge’s order.

Barsanti said that, while Franklin met the standard to be deemed a danger to the community or a specific person, there were lesser conditions available that could mitigate the risk. He also noted that Franklin has no criminal record.

Franklin is accused of killing Oscar McDowell, 40, on March 16, 2023, outside of an apartment on Fairwood Drive.

Prosecutor Eric Leafblad told Barsanti that Franklin and several other people, including a son of the victim, went to McDowell’s apartment around 3:57 p.m. that day.

He said McDowell told the group that they were not the only ones with a gun. They left a few minutes later, and McDowell followed them to the car.

Leafblad said Franklin was in the back seat, and asked the driver if he should shoot McDowell, then did so through the driver’s window.

Franklin’s attorney argued that Franklin had known he was a subject of the murder investigation since at least Jan. 7, 2024, and had not been charged with committing a crime between then and his arrest on June 3. The murder charges were filed on June 2.

Leafblad argued for detention based on the charges and that Franklin was too young at the time to have a gun legally. In addition, he argued that electronic monitoring was not available because Franklin does not live in Kane County.

Franklin lives in Hazel Crest, Leafblad said. Franklin plans to live with a grandmother in Markham, Franklin’s attorney said.

She also said that the victim was out on bond at the time on charges including home invasion and aggravated battery, and that the gun used belonged to the victim.

Kane County sometimes allows electronic home monitoring for defendants from adjacent counties, and some parts of Cook County, according to Kane County sheriff’s Sgt. Andrew Schwab, who oversees the monitoring.

However, it has not allowed monitoring of defendants from the south suburbs because the time it would take a Kane County deputy to respond to an alert or do a home visit check, he said.

Markham and Hazel Crest are nearly 60 miles from the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office does not have reciprocal arrangements with other counties, he said.

Franklin’s attorney said she is checking whether the home monitoring could be done through the Illinois Office of Statewide Pretrial Services. That office handles such tasks for 82 downstate counties.

The attorneys are due to report back to Barsanti Aug. 7.