Ex-McHenry Co. deputy pleads guilty in crash
A one-time McHenry County Sheriff's deputy fired after he wrecked his squad car in a crash blamed on drunken driving pleaded guilty to a reduced charge this morning that could allow him to resume a law enforcement career.
Donald R. Anderson, 25, of Huntley, admitted guilt to a reckless driving charge stemming from the Jan. 20 crash that ended his short tenure as a sheriff's deputy and led to disciplinary action against a pair of Crystal Lake police officers who investigated it.
Under the plea deal approved by a McHenry County judge today, Anderson was placed on one year of court supervision and ordered to pay fines and fees totaling $2,736. In return for the plea, prosecutors dismissed a driving under the influence charge and a second count of reckless driving filed after the incident.
"We felt this was an appropriate resolution," Crystal Lake prosecutor Tom Spencer said. "More than anything, we're looking to move forward from this."
Records show Anderson was driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.142 percent -- well above the legal limit of 0.08 -- when his sheriff's squad car crashed into a tree on Buckingham Drive in Crystal Lake. Under sheriff's department policy, deputies are allowed to take their squad cars home with them, but they discouraged from using them for personal reasons.
Despite indications Anderson was intoxicated, Crystal Lake police responding to the crash initially refused to cite him for driving under the influence, or even require him to perform a Breathalyzer test or other sobriety tests. It was not until five days later that Anderson was charged with driving under the influence and reckless driving.
The allegations of a cover-up led Crystal Lake police to take undisclosed disciplinary action against the responding officer and his supervisor.
Anderson, who had been a sheriff's deputy for less than a year at the time, was fired the same day charges were fired.
His attorney, Hal Stinespring, said today his client took the guilty plea in part because he did not want to put the officers in a position to testify about their actions in front of a jury.
"My client did not want to put the Crystal Lake Police Department and sheriff's deputies in an uncomfortable position," he said.
If Anderson serves his one year of supervision without any further brushes with the law, he will not have a conviction on his record and, Stinespring believes, can return to work as a police officer.
"He's a good guy and this was an unfortunate set of facts, more embarrassing than anything else," he said. "People make mistakes and have a right to move on from them."