More time needed in Wells’ case

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PRINCETON — Attorneys have requested additional time to prepare for the Austin Wells’ lawsuit against Bureau County, Bureau County Sheriff John Thompson and two county correctional officers.

On May 22, a court document was filed in the U.S. District Court in Peoria stating both parties agreed to the joint motion to extend discovery from the previously set Aug. 3 to Sept. 15. The motion also requests the deadline for the completion of witness depositions be rescheduled until later in the fall. At this point, the trial date is still set for Jan. 19, 2010, before Judge Michael Mihm.

In the May 22 document, attorneys for both sides gave reasons for the additional time request, including their involvement in extensive discovery in other cases. Also, an inspection of the Bureau County Jail is still needed. A relevant video must be returned from the Illinois State Police Crime Laboratory.

In order to accommodate schedules and travel needs of attorneys and witnesses, the entire week of June 22 has been set aside to conduct depositions in the Wells’ case, with additional dates set in July as well.

The May 22 document also dealt with a request for Wells’ medical records and with a request for the defendants’ employment records.

The wrongful death and civil rights lawsuit stems from the June 2007 death of Austin L. Wells, a 17-year-old Dover boy, who died while an inmate in the Bureau County Jail. Wells was found hanging from a bed sheet in his cell at 6:50 a.m. June 9, 2007. Bureau County Coroner Janice Wamhoff determined Wells had been dead for seven or eight hours when he was found by jail staff. A coroner’s jury determined Wells’ death to be suicide.

The plaintiffs in the case are the estate of Austin Wells and Wells’ parents, Jerry Wells of Princeton and Mindy Davis of Davenport. They are represented by Chicago attorneys Janine Hoft and Jan Susler.

Representing the defendants, Bureau County, the sheriff and corrections officers Sherry Keefer and Chris Spiegel, are Northbrook attorneys Clifford Kosoff, George Casson and Elisha Rosenblum.

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