Judge rules Will County sheriff’s deputy conducted unlawful search of vehicle

A judge ruled a Will County sheriff’s deputy conducted an unlawful search of a vehicle that led to the arrest of a Lockport Township man on felony gun possession charges.

On Tuesday, Will County Judge Amy Christiansen granted a defense motion to quash the 2024 arrest of Deamontae “Scuba” Hunter, 27, and suppress evidence gathered against him based on a deputy’s violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Unreasonable search and seizures by the government are prohibited under the Fourth Amendment.

Hunter’s case is set for another court hearing on March 13.

The motion to quash Hunter’s arrest was filed by his attorneys, Jerry King and Marisa Bondi, of the Joliet law firm King and Bondi.

Christiansen’s ruling follows a hearing where Deputy Matthew Silverstein testified about the 2024 traffic stop of a vehicle traveling five miles above the 35 mph zone in Lockport Township.

Hunter was a passenger in the vehicle.

During the traffic stop, Silverstein “immediately recognized” Hunter when he approached the vehicle but did not have a warrant for his arrest, according to Christiansen’s ruling.

Silverstein also testified that he smelled a “strong odor” of fresh marijuana when he approached the vehicle, she said.

However, Silverstein provided no testimony “regarding his ability to recognize the smell” of fresh marijuana, Christiansen said.

The only fresh marijuana found in the vehicle was a “shake” on the floorboards of the back seat of the vehicle and Silverstein testified he found about “one gram of [marijuana] shake” in the vehicle, Christiansen said.

Yet Silverstein did not “collect any of the purported” marijuana for testing, she said.

Christiansen said only one gram of marijuana was located “scattered around the vehicle” and it is “unlikely that the smell would have been identifiable” during the traffic stop.

Silverstein also found a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, which led to Hunter’s arrest on charges of armed habitual criminal, unlawful possession of a weapon by felon and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

The gun was found under the front passenger seat, where Hunter was seated, prosecutors said.

Silverstein’s testimony before the grand jury led to an indictment against Hunter based on those charges.

Silverstein testified credibly that once he saw Hunter in the front seat of the vehicle, he was “going to search the vehicle,” Christiansen said.

There was no warrant for Hunter’s arrest and he was “not observed to have committed any crimes,” she said.

“This search was conducted in violation of the Fourth Amendment,” Christiansen said.

Following Christiansen’s ruling, she granted another defense motion to allow Hunter’s pretrial release from jail. She ordered Hunter to submit to electronic monitoring while staying confined within his home unless it was for religious, medical or court purposes.

Judge Donald DeWilkins had denied Hunter’s pretrial release based on the dangerousness standard under the SAFE-T Act, which eliminated cash bail in Illinois in 2023.

During Hunter’s time in jail, he was taken to hospital for treatment of facial injuries and head trauma he suffered in an attack by three other inmates, said Will County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Dan Jungles.