Former Downers Grove cop pleads guilty to official misconduct

A former Downers Grove police officer accused of using his position on the force in a scheme to rip off drug dealers has been sentenced to probation and periodic imprisonment, authorities said Tuesday.

Randy Caudill, 35, of Bolingbrook, pleaded guilty to official misconduct at a DuPage County court hearing Monday. Judge George Bakalis sentenced him to two years of probation and two months of periodic imprisonment in the county jail.

A veteran officer, Caudill came under investigation in spring 2010 after authorities received a tip that he was involved in illegal activity. Prosecutors said he later was recorded while plotting to help an informant reclaim a $30,000 debt by robbing four suspected drug dealers.

Authorities said Caudill instructed the informant and an officer working undercover to get a car with police lights and pull over the dealers under the guise of an official traffic stop. He used his police computer to find license plate information on the dealers, and offered to supply his would-be accomplices with badges and a bulletproof vest, according to prosecutors.

Caudill had no prior criminal record and was a Downers Grove officer for about nine years. Before that, he worked for two years for the sheriff’s office, where he was assigned to the jail. He also has worked security for a Downers Grove car dealership.

Caudill’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday. As a result of his conviction, Caudill must enter his DNA into a law enforcement database of known felons, prosecutors said. Had he been convicted at trial, he could have faced up to five years in prison.

He is scheduled to report to jail June 17.