Ottawa man charged with murder wants confession tossed

About a week after Eric Clements was shot to death outside his Ottawa home, the man charged with pulling the trigger spoke to police. Now, Nicolaus Phillips wants a judge to throw out the statement.

Phillips, 25, of Spring Valley appeared Thursday in La Salle County Circuit Court, where a judge scheduled a motion to suppress hearing for next Friday, March 1. Phillips is charged with first-degree murder and, because a firearm was used in the killing, faces an extended sentence up to 85 years if convicted.

Phillips and his lawyer disclosed in a new pleading that Phillips gave incriminating statements to police on June 14, 2023, a little over a week after the Clements shooting.

However, Phillips’ lawyer said the statement is tainted and should not be admitted at Phillips’ trial, currently set for May 5.

According to the defense pleading, Phillips was interviewed twice shortly after he and Chastity Furar, the woman charged with driving Phillips, were apprehended and charged with murder. Both times Phillips denied any wrongdoing.

About a week later, La Salle Police Detective Brian Camenisch visited Phillips in La Salle County Jail to inquire about a December 2022 drug deal in La Salle. Phillips agreed to talk and Camenisch read Phillips his Miranda rights – at least with respect to the drug deal.

A half hour into the interview, the talk shifted to the Clements shooting. Phillips “grew emotional” and made incriminating statements, both to Camenisch and to two Ottawa police officers who soon came to the jail.

Public Defender Ryan Hamer argued the police violated Phillips’ rights on several counts, making the statement inadmissible.

“At no time did Detective Camenisch re-Mirandize Mr. Phillips once the topic changed to the homicide investigation,” Hamer wrote in the pleading. “Further, at no time did Detective Camenisch even ask Mr. Phillips if he had obtained counsel regarding the alleged homicide.”

Additionally, Hamer said, Phillips was interviewed with no breaks or food even though it was a custodial interview and Phillips wasn’t free to leave.

A reply from the La Salle County State’s Attorney’s Office is forthcoming.