ROCK FALLS, Ill. – A first-degree murder charge in connection to a fatal stabbing in Rock Falls was dismissed after details of a flawed investigation conducted by police were revealed during pretrial.
Click here to see an update to this story.
Kyle Cooper, 36, of Rock Falls, was set to stand trial on one count of First Degree Murder and two counts of Aggravated Battery for his role in the fatal stabbing of DJ Gordon in the early morning of Feb. 14.
According to Illinois law, First Degree Murder is a Class M Felony punishable by imprisonment of 20 years to life.
Cooper was facing imprisonment of at least 60 to 100 years if convicted on the State’s amended murder charge seeking ‘extended term sentencing,’ court records show.
In May, all three charges were dismissed and replaced with one count of Second Degree Murder, a Class 1 Felony punishable by imprisonment of 4 to 20 years.
The victim’s father Dan Gordon has been outspoken regarding his frustration with city leaders for failing to admit officers made mistakes nor providing assurances it wouldn’t happen again in future cases.
“There were some blatant errors made on the crime scene,” Dan said. “And there’s been nobody held accountable for it. And if you’re the one in charge when those errors are made, you should be the one held accountable.”
Court filings and police reports I’ve obtained show how prosecutors went from ‘throwing the book’ at a murder suspect to essentially abandoning their case altogether.
The crime.
On Feb. 13, Gordon contacted his friend AO telling her he wanted to confront Cooper at a local bar. AO gave Gordon a ride to the bar where he met and pushed Cooper instigating a verbal argument before Gordon was escorted out, prosecutors said.
About two hours later, while Gordon and AO were at a bar, AO called Cooper to have a conversation with him. Gordon overheard this conversation and the two began arguing again, prosecutors said.
After the verbal exchange ended, AO decided to go to her friend TH’s house so they could play cards, prosecutors said.
While driving her white Chevrolet Blazer to TH’s house with Gordon, AO drove past Cooper’s house for an unknown reason where Cooper could be seen from the roadway allowing Gordon to call him a ‘bitch’ as they drove by, prosecutors said.
After the verbal incident, Cooper got into his gold Chevrolet Traverse with his brother to follow AO and Gordon to TH’s house where he proceeded to get out of the vehicle and approached AO’s Blazer.
At this point, AO yelled at Cooper to get him away because she was afraid he would damage her vehicle, prosecutors said.
Cooper then turned his attention towards AO and began arguing with her before pushing her, prosecutors said.
In response to Cooper pushing AO, Gordon got out of the Blazer and began fist-fighting him, prosecutors said.
During the fist fight, Cooper used a knife to stab Gordon before being pulled off of him and getting back into the Traverse with his brother to leave the scene, prosecutors said.
Gordon was taken to a local hospital by ambulance but died despite life saving measures, prosecutors said.
An autopsy showed Gordon’s cause of death was a stab wound to the stomach striking a primary artery causing him to ‘bleed out.’
Officers searched Cooper’s vehicle and found a knife, prosecutors said.
Within hours of the stabbing, Cooper turned himself in to the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office, prosecutors said.
Multiple witnesses told investigators they had heard Cooper make threatening statements when talking about Gordon in the days and weeks leading up to the fatal stabbing, police reports show.
One witness claimed, ‘[Cooper] always drives around with a big ass knife and stuff and saying he was going to gut [Gordon] like a fish,’ police reports show.
The charges.
On Feb. 18, four days after the stabbing, police charged Cooper with First Degree Murder accusing him of stabbing Gordon, ‘without lawful justification and with the intent to do great bodily harm,’ causing his death, court records show.
The Whiteside Co. State’s Attorney filed two additional charges of Aggravated Battery accusing Cooper of repeatedly stabbing Gordon in the stomach with a knife, both a Class 3 Felony, court records show.
On Feb. 21, Cooper appeared in court for a detention hearing where a judge denied pretrial release, court records show.
On March 4, Cooper was formally arraigned and pled not guilty to the charges. A pretrial conference was scheduled for later that month with a jury trial set for early April, court records show.
In late March, the jury trial was continued to mid-May. Both parties stated they were ready for trial at the April 23 pretrial conference, court records show.
The flaws.
Over the next few weeks, court records show Cooper’s defense attorney James Mertes filed a barrage of motions in limine, which are generally used to get a ruling on whether or not specific evidence or arguments can be presented at trial.
Among numerous filings during this period, two motions in limine filed by Mertes on May 2 stood out the most:
- DESTRUCTION/SPOLIATION OF EVIDENCE
- LEAD HOMICIDE INVESTIGATOR NOT CERTIFIED AS REQUIRED BY LAW
According to the motion in limine listed under Destruction/Spoliation of Evidence, the defense accused police of allowing ‘crucial evidence to be destroyed.’
The defense argued the white Chevrolet Blazer driven by AO with Gordon in the passenger seat was ‘clearly involved in the incident’ citing the fact the stabbing was ‘immediately’ next to the Blazer.
Rock Falls Police Sergeant Betony Gluff was one of the first officers to arrive at the crime scene located in the 600 block of W. 20th Street, police reports show.
Gluff wrote in his report he and Officer McKanna, ‘taped off the scene’ and ‘in the driveway, there was a white Chevrolet Blazer.’ Adding, ‘Near the passenger side of the vehicle there was a large amount of blood…where [Gordon] was laying…’
The defense argued law enforcement failed to search and preserve the Blazer following the incident. Adding, the Blazer was released after being secured within the crime scene, ‘without any effort to preserve it.’
The defense claimed, ‘The presence or absence of weapons, contraband and the presence or absence of identifying substances such as fingerprints and DNA inside the Blazer were extraordinarily important to the investigation.’
“Law enforcement inexplicably failed to preserve [the Blazer] but instead allowed its evidentiary significance to be destroyed, thereby depriving [Cooper] of potentially exculpatory evidence and directly resulting in the spoliation of evidence.”
Furthermore, the defense told the court Rock Falls Detective Autumn Day was, ‘not certified to act as a lead homicide/death investigator as required by law,’ from the moment of the stabbing until Feb. 28.
During this period, the defense said Day had not successfully completed an approved training program of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board in death and homicide investigations.
The defense pointed to Section 10.11 of the Illinois Police Training Act which includes a mandatory provision for lead investigators in death and homicide investigations.
“Only law enforcement officers who successfully complete the training program may be assigned as lead investigators in death and homicide investigations.”
The defense said Day, ‘was not empowered under Illinois law to act as lead investigator in relation to this case’s death and homicide investigation,’ resulting in, ‘the unlawful procurement of evidence in a violation of [Cooper’s] Constitutional Rights.’
The defense added, ‘when police conduct results in the violation of constitutional rights, evidence obtained as a result of the violation must be excluded at trial.’
The impact.
On May 22, both parties agreed to a plea deal involving the dismissal of all the original charges but adding Second Degree Murder, court records show.
According to Illinois law, second-degree murder is defined, in part, as, ‘at the time of the killing he or she is acting under a sudden and intense passion resulting from serious provocation by the individual killed or another whom the offender endeavors to kill, but he or she negligently or accidentally causes the death of the individual killed.’
After pleading guilty to Second Degree Murder, Cooper was sentenced to 20 years in prison with credit for 97 days served in county jail, court records show.
Cooper is in custody at the Pinckneyville Correctional Center. He will be eligible for parole in 10 years, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Gordon’s father Dan says neither Chief Pilgrim nor Mayor Kleckler have reached out to the family despite the Mayor telling local media outlet Shaw Local the family, ‘should be satisfied’ with the prison sentence.
“I think my son’s life was worth more than that,” Dan said. “He loved to throw darts, loved to golf, hang out with his buddies, he was just kind of everybody’s buddy. I would like for [him] to be remembered for the love he had for his friends and his family.”
Although Gordon’s brother Branden shares the desire for accountability, he also wishes for Gordon’s legacy to outshine the mistakes made by law enforcement.
“I do not want my brother’s name to become synonymous with a hometown policing blunder,” Branden said. “I want everyone reading to remember my brother as the real, genuine and loving man that he was.”
Branden added, “DJ brought light into every room he entered. He loved so deeply that it is almost impossible to imagine, and I can’t even put into words how deeply he is missed by all who loved him.”
While still navigating the grieving process, Dan believes his push for accountability goes beyond his own son’s murder.
“There’s a lot of open cases in the area they don’t have a suspect in,” Dan said. “And it kind of makes you wonder if it might be because things were done improperly on the crime scene.” He added, “I’m willing to continue to fight and raise hell until somebody does take responsibility and there’s steps taken to prevent it from happening to another family.”
In response to the handling of the case and grievances expressed by Gordon’s family, Rock Falls Second Ward Ald. Marshall Doane sent me the following statement:
“I’d like to offer my condolences to the Gordon family. With events culminating in such tragedy, we should never state or even imply that someone should be ‘satisfied’ with an undesirable outcome. Dan, Lisa, and the entire family will always have my deepest sympathies.”
I have reached out to the Chief, Mayor and State’s Attorney multiple times but they have not responded to my requests for comment.
SEPTEMBER 2 UPDATE: Pilgrim formally announced his retirement at the Sep. 2 council meeting and agreed to an interview with me to talk about the Gordon case. Mayor Kleckler told me he supports the chief’s handling of the Gordon case and decision to retire. I have still not heard from the State’s Attorney’s Office.
SEPTEMBER 1 UPDATE: Sources say Pilgrim will formally announce his retirement at the city council meeting set for Tuesday Sep. 2 at 5:30 p.m.
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