LucasFilms Greatly Admired 'Your Integrity and Courage, Javier'
JOLIET — Four years and two months after Joliet’s Police Department issued a press release praising the Kendall County State’s Attorney for filing charges against one of their own, there were no follow-up press releases issued by State’s Attorney Eric Weis or anybody else on the losing side. In Courtroom 115, on Monday morning, Weis dismissed all four of the felony charges he had filed against Joliet police Sgt. Javier Esqueda back in 2020.
Weis’ decision to finally bring the high-profile police whistleblower case to an end left Kendall County’s top prosecutor with zero convictions to show for his exhaustive efforts.
Weis and his fellow Yorkville-based prosecutors such as former First Assistant State’s Attorney Mark Shlifka spent hundreds of hours inside and outside their courthouse, forging ahead with plans of convicting Esqueda.
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“Sgt. Esqueda’s conduct violates not only the law, more importantly, it threatens the trust and confidence we strive for daily in our service to the citizens of Joliet,” Joliet Police Chief Al Roechner announced in his Oct. 21, 2020 press release marking Esqueda’s arrest. “I want to express my appreciation to the members of the Joliet Police Department who continue to provide exemplary policing service to our city on a daily basis. I also wish to thank Kendall County State’s Attorney Eric Weis for reviewing this case and coming to an independent conclusion regarding Sgt. Esqueda’s actions.”
On October 21, 2020, Roechner announced that at approximately 9:45 a.m., 51-year-old Joliet Police Sergeant Esqueda, who lives in Plainfield, was taken into custody on an active Kendall County arrest warrant for two counts of official misconduct.
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“These charges are a result of a criminal investigation that was opened on June 18, 2020, after it was learned that Sgt. Javier Esqueda gained unauthorized access and distributed a video from the Eric Lurry investigation that was being investigated by an outside agency, the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force. The video that was accessed violated chain of custody and potentially compromised evidence in a criminal investigation,” Roechner announced in 2020.
Monday, Dec. 16 was supposed to be the first day for Esqueda’s two-day-long bench trial at the Yorkville courthouse. But the trial never happened.
Instead, Weis informed Kendall County Judge Jody Gleason that he was dismissing his entire case against Esqueda rather than present with his evidence and call witnesses to testify in Judge Gleason’s courtroom.
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As for Esqueda, he met with reporters outside the courtroom after learning his charges were dismissed.
“I was called a pariah. I was stripped of my badge, gun and police duties where I was forced to sit at a desk with garbage and stare at a wall,” he shared. “I was put on display for other officers and civilians to mock me. I was forced into early retirement.
“I was kicked out of the Supervisors Union and denied my retirement badge. False narratives were told by fellow officers, and I lost many friendships from the police department immediately.
“I had two police supervisors and an officer come to my home in retaliation after they were advised that the State Patrol had revoked my FOID for being charged with four felony counts of official misconduct. They demanded my firearms, frightened my mother and child, and were unprofessional using explicit language.”
Esqueda went on to say that the incident put his family in constant fear for my safety as well as theirs.
“My family began to believe that they could not trust the police. The emotional and psychological strain caused by the State’s Attorney’s Office for these last 1,516 days has left a profound mark on myself and my family. The false charges against me forced my early retirement. It has denied me additional employment.
“It has denied me participation in activities with my son’s Cub and Boys Scouts troop. It has limited my freedom to cross state lines without permission. Lastly, it made me lose faith in the legal system that I worked collaboratively for so many years to achieve justice within the legal framework. Today, this nightmare has come to an end, but the damage has already been done.”
On the other hand, Esqueda’s prosecution drew national attention and that national attention was overwhelmingly positive toward Esqueda and negative toward the Joliet Police Department.
In one exclusive reported by Joliet Patch in 2020, Esqueda got a new ally — and a powerful ally it is. Lucasfilm — yes, the filmmakers of Star Wars — have come out in support of the sergeant.
Lucasfilm mailed a several Star Wars autographs and action figures to Sgt. Esqueda, along with a one-page letter.
Part of the letter from Lucasfilm reads: “Hello Javier, we were deeply saddened to learn about the tragic death of Eric Lurry and the resulting actions taken against you for uncovering the unspeakable circumstances that led to his death. Once we learned that you are also a member of the 501st Legion — and hence an extended member of the Lucasfilm family —we felt compelled to reach out to offer our unwavering support to you and your own family.”
Around Joliet, Esqueda is known as “The Star Wars officer.” Esqueda is a huge fan of the Star Wars movies — one of the biggest in the entire community. Every year at the Joliet Public Library’s annual Star Wars Day, he dresses up as a Storm Trooper.
The letter from Lucasfilm went on to state: “We at LucasFilms greatly admire your integrity and courage, Javier, and are proud of the heroic example you have set for others — especially youngsters —who might look to your actions as a guide when confronted with their own moral dilemmas and challenges.”
Related Joliet Patch coverage:
Lucasfilm Supports Sgt. Esqueda, Eric Lurry Whistleblower
‘Batman Don’t Plead Guilty’: Joliet Police Whistleblower Vindicated
Retired Joliet Police Sergeant Vindicated, 4 Charges To Be Dismissed
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