Prosecutors want to appeal ruling for Waukegan officer

Prosecutors said Monday they may ask the state Supreme Court to review an appellate court ruling last week overturning the conviction of a former Waukegan police officer.

Delatwan Haynes, 35, has already served a two-year prison sentence he received in 2009 for official misconduct for having sex with a woman in a squad car.

Haynes, who testified at his trial that the sex was consensual, was acquitted of aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated criminal sexual abuse at the end of the trial.

The woman testified she encountered Haynes in downtown Waukegan during the early morning hours of Jan. 6, 2008 when Haynes stopped her for jaywalking.

The woman said Haynes took a crack pipe from her and told her to go home, but then stopped her again a few blocks away and ordered her into his squad car.

Haynes drove her to a parking lot, the woman said, had sex with her and threw a condom out of the car then drove her home.

The woman called Waukegan police to report what had happened and returned to the lot to retrieve the condom, which tested positive for her DNA and Haynes’.

Haynes, who resigned from the department a short time after the complaint was made, was found guilty of official misconduct for using a squad car for personal use, leaving his assigned patrol zone and filing a false police report.

But the three-judge panel of the 2nd District Appellate Court in Elgin ruled last week that violations of police department internal policies, such as was done in the Haynes case, were not sufficient to uphold a conviction for official misconduct.

Deputy State’s Attorney Jeff Pavletic said he was conferring with attorneys in the state appellate prosecutor’s office about a possible appeal of the ruling.

Haynes’ attorney, Jed Stone of Waukegan, said the Supreme Court has already ruled on this issue in another case.

“I doubt seriously if the Supreme Court will want to revisit this issue,” Stone said. “The three-judge panel of the appellate court ruled in our favor, and if necessary, we will be prepared to fight for Mr. Haynes’ innocence before the Supreme Court.”