Jury finds Will County sheriff’s deputy guilty of disorderly conduct

A jury found an off-duty Will County sheriff’s deputy guilty of alarming and disturbing staff at a Mokena Catholic school when he went to the building armed and angrily demanded the removal of a student he believed posed a threat.

The jury spent about two hours deliberating the case against Ed Goewey, 46, before finding him guilty of committing disorderly conduct Dec. 3 at St. Mary Catholic School in Mokena.

Goewey is scheduled for a sentencing date Sept. 6. The disorderly conduct offense is a class C misdemeanor that has sentencing range of conditional discharge or up to 30 days in jail, as well as a fine of up to $1,500.

Outside the courtroom, Goewey thanked a crowd of parents of St. Mary students for their support. He also thanked his attorney, Robert Bodach, for his work.

Goewey said his intentions were and always will be the protection of others.

“I was focused on ensuring the safety of the kids at school,” Goewey said.

Bodach said he plans to discuss with his client a potential motion for a new trial.

Will County Deputy Chief Dan Jungles said Goewey has been on worker’s compensation leave since before and after the Dec. 3 incident. He said the sheriff’s office will now begin the internal affairs investigation, with the completion of the criminal investigation and court proceedings.

Special Prosecutor William Elward told jurors that several witnesses from the school testified they were disturbed Goewey’s conduct when he came to St. Mary school Dec. 3, asked to meet his daughter and then went to the second floor of the building.

Elward said those witnesses said Goewey ignored their requests not to enter the second floor where classrooms were located and angrily demanded the removal of a student. He said Goewey went to the school based on gossip and rumor.

Elward said responding Mokena police officers did the right thing that day.

“They got an armed person out of that school,” Elward said, referring to Goewey.

Bodach said the staff were defensive toward Goewey because they did not notify police or parents about an alleged threat from a student Dec. 1. He said Goewey, a trained law enforcement professional, was concerned school staff had not investigated a potential weapon threat thoroughly.

“He was imploring them to do their job,” Bodach said.

Bodach called the charge against Goewey an insult to law enforcement. He asked the jury “do not participate in this insult.”

Goewey took the stand Thursday. Bodach told his client that Elward’s witnesses said he was acting “out of character” Dec. 3. Goewey said he “acted differently” because the “situation dictated it.”

Goewey said he went to the school because he was concerned about a potential weapon threat had not been investigated thoroughly. He said he was not agitated throughout the incident and that he yelled in response to other school staff yelling at him.

When asked by Bodach why he went to the second floor of the school, despite staff telling him not to do so, Goewey said he felt the “potential significance of the incident dictated my actions” and he was afraid the potential threat “would be taken lightly.”