Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Disorderly Conduct topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hearing officer finds Villa Park man liable for disorderly conduct over Facebook post
Summary
At a March 5 administrative hearing in Villa Park, hearing officer Erica Thomas found Leonard Granzard liable for disorderly conduct over an allegedly threatening Facebook post referencing complainant Jim Keating and assessed a $100 fine plus a $35 administrative fee.
Erica Thomas, the presiding hearing officer at the Village of Villa Park administrative hearing on March 5, found Leonard Granzard liable on a disorderly conduct citation stemming from an alleged online threat and assessed a $100 fine plus a $35 administrative fee.
The case record (report VPPC2600142) states that the complainant, Jim Keating, reported a Facebook post by Granzard that read in part, "I'm gonna kill you." At the hearing, Granzard acknowledged the post but said he did not mean to carry out the threat and described the exchange as part of an online argument. "I wouldn't I didn't mean I was gonna kill him," Granzard said in his remarks to the hearing officer.
Thomas told Granzard that the proceeding is civil and that Illinois state law allows a ticket or sworn report to serve as prima facie evidence in such hearings. She said the burden of proof is a preponderance of the evidence and, after reviewing the matter, announced a finding of liability and the fine.
Under the ruling, Granzard was ordered to pay the $100 fine plus a $35 administrative fee; Thomas encouraged him not to post threatening statements online. The hearing officer also informed the defendant that he has 35 days from March 5 to file an administrative review action with the Circuit Court of DuPage County if he wishes to appeal the decision.
The case was concluded at the hearing; the officer noted that the police officer who prepared the report need not be present because the report may serve as prima facie evidence under state law.
