Patrick Stout
Voice Correspondent
MACOMB McDonough County Sheriff Nick Petitgout told a county board committee Monday that his office has received several telephone and online threats following international publication of an article on the Ariel Harrison case.
Harrison was convicted on charges stemming from her arrest by Macomb police for driving under the influence of alcohol, and she is scheduled to be sentenced August 10. The article in the New York publication VICE News focuses on her experiences while in the county.jail.
Petitgout said he has received threats coming from several states and a few foreign countries. Our voicemail boxes are full, he told the committee. They re threatening to kill us and to blow up the county jail. The sheriff said that the office of State s Attorney Matt Kwacala is keeping a log of all threats received.
A pre-sentencing investigation will be conducted between now and then.
“(The pre-sentencing investigation) is basically a complete snapshot of the defendant’s social history, family history, any substance abuse history, criminal history – a complete snapshot of the defendant’s life,” Kwacala said, calling it a tool to help the court know the defendant better. He said the information will not be made public.
Poplous faces a minimum of six years in prison and a maximum of 30 years. Kwacala said he will be pushing for a term closer to the latter than the former, though he will no longer ask for an extended sentence.
The McDonough County Voice
Editor s note: A previous version of this story mistakenly omitted a response from State s Attorney Matt Kwacala. His comments have been added to the story.
McDONOUGH COUNTY A resident who was arrested on March 2, held for 20 hours and then released by the State’s Attorney without any charges is alleging local police racially profiled her and her husband and violated their rights.
“I will never forget this, because it was my husband’s birthday,” Magen Kelly said.
Kelly, who is Black, said in interviews with the Voice that she and husband Corey Kelly, a multi-ethnic war veteran, were racially profiled and targeted for what the police report described as a “random registration check” as they made their way home through Macomb. She called dispatch twice, asking for a supervisor after they were stopped. During the calls, she expressed fear for her safety.