Dupage Policy Journal

 DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin is commending the work of officers responsible for  taking inmate Bruce Berrier back into custody after he cut off his electronic GPS monitoring device while on furlough to attend his brother’s funeral.

“Thanks to the outstanding work of all the law enforcement agencies involved, Bruce Berrier’s alleged attempt to avoid the consequences of his previous criminal activity was short-lived,” Berlin said in a press release. “The quick and peaceful apprehension of a man serving a lengthy sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections for gunrunning sends the message that in DuPage County we will use every tool at our disposal to not only see to it that justice is served but more importantly, ensure the safety of the public.”

Berlin said officers from the U.S. Marshal’s Office, the Elmhurst, Villa Park, Lombard, Downers Grove, Berwyn, Cicero and Glendale Heights Police Departments all played a role in taking Berrier back into custody, as did DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick and his office.

Bond has since been denied for Berrier, who was recently convicted of gunrunning. He now also faces felony charges of indirect criminal contempt of court, escape/violate electronic home monitoring detention program, failure to return to a penal institution and criminal damage to government supported property.

On Jan. 11, while still in the custody of the DuPage County Jail and over the state’s objection, Berrier was allowed by the court to attend his brother’s funeral services. As per the court’s order, Berrier was to return to the DuPage County Jail at 2 p.m. the same day.

Shortly before that time, Elmhurst Police report they found Berrier’s electronic GPS monitoring device cut off and discarded at the Arlington Cemetery in Elmhurst. He failed to return to the DuPage County Jail by 2 p.m. as ordered by the court.

Berrier remained on the run for 10 days before being spotted at a Jewel Osco in Glendale Heights and taken back into custody. While on the lam, several new arrest warrants were issued for Berrier, all of which are now slated to be heard by Judge Michael Reidy. His next court appearance is scheduled for Feb.14.

A career prosecutor with more than three decades of experience, Berlin was sworn in as DuPage County State’s Attorney in 2010 after being appointed to complete the unexpired term of Joseph Birkett. Since then, Berlin has been reelected to three other full, four-year terms, leading an office of 87 assistant state’s attorneys and 90 support staff and investigators.