Did man charged in Ottawa shooting talk freely to cops? Trial on hold while judge weighs that question

Nicolaus Phillips said police had no business questioning him about an Ottawa shooting death without a lawyer present. Prosecutors said it’s a moot point because Phillips waived his rights.

Who is correct? A La Salle County judge will settle that Friday, May 16.

Until then, however, Phillips cannot stand trial on charges he shot and killed Eric Clements in Ottawa. His jury trial, previously set for May 5, for first-degree murder (he would face up to 85 years) is on hold until Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. decides whether Phillips’ disputed statements are admissible.

Phillips, 26, of Spring Valley appeared Tuesday in La Salle County Circuit Court on a motion to suppress evidence. Phillips said his rights were violated when he was questioned on June 14, 2023, just over a week after Clements was fatally shot outside his Ottawa home.

Phillips left the courtroom Tuesday without a ruling. The judge acknowledged some competing issues at law and directed attorneys to draft briefs outlining their positions on whether Phillips was properly interviewed.

Questions from the Tuesday hearing suggest the central issue is whether the interview should have taken place at all – Phillips believes he should not have been questioned without a lawyer present – and, secondarily, whether Phillips was properly interviewed even after he waived his rights.

Detective Sgt. Brian Camenisch of La Salle police testified Tuesday he went to the sheriff’s office on June 14, 2023, to interview Phillips about an open La Salle case from about six months before.

“Was it your intention to try to get him to open up about the (Clements) homicide incident?” Public Defender Ryan Hamer asked.

“No, it was not,” Camenisch replied.

“So you strictly wanted to discuss the city of La Salle incident?”

“Yes.”

Camenisch testified that he read Phillips his Miranda warnings and that Phillips waived those rights. Phillips was not, however, given any food or breaks nor afforded any visits to the bathroom.

According to Camenisch, the interview veered from the La Salle investigation to the Clements shooting and that it was Phillips who brought it up, repeatedly.

“Did you bring up the Ottawa case?” prosecutors Jeremiah Adams asked Camenisch.

“No, I did not,” Camenisch said.

“How many times did he (Phillips) bring it up?”

“I believe two or three times,” Camenisch answered.

And when Phillips persisted, Camenisch phoned an Ottawa police detective, Matthew Najdanovich, who arrived minutes later and took over the interview. Najdanovich read Phillips his Miranda rights and then questioned him about the Clements shooting.

Hamer appeared to dispute that the Clements shooting came up naturally. While the taped interview was not played in open court (the judge said he viewed it in chambers), Camenisch apparently alluded to the Ottawa case in what Hamer seemed to think was an attempt to nudge the interview in that direction.

And Hamer wrote in pleadings that Phillips should have been given a fresh Miranda warning as soon as the topic pivoted to Eric Clements. Phillips, he said, should again have been asked if he wanted a lawyer.

The issue of legal counsel appears to be something the judge will wrestle with. Phillips first appeared in court June 8, 2023, at which time he said he would seek private counsel. When he appeared for arraignment on June 22, Phillips said he would try the case himself. (He later changed his mind and applied for the public defender.)

Prosecutors said that if Phillips was calling the shots himself on June 14 then it was up to him to decide whether to talk to the police.

“(Phillips) never indicated to police that he wished to have an attorney present during the questioning,” Adams wrote in a companion pleading. “(He) never indicated to the court that he wished to have the public defender represent him. (He) did not hire an attorney. He did not express an interest in having one present during his interview.”