Joliet Officer Brian Nagra Faces 5 Criminal Charges

JOLIET, IL — Records obtained from the Kendall County Circuit Clerk show that Joliet Police Officer Brian Nagra was formally charged on Friday with three counts of official misconduct and two counts of theft of between $10,000 and $100,000.

Patch has learned that Nagra's bail was set at $100,000 and that his family has posted the necessary 10 percent, which was $10,000, to bail him out of the Kendall County Jail, where he was booked into custody around 3 p.m. on Thursday.

Some in Joliet had been awaiting his arrest for many months in connection with allegations of financial crimes against the city of Joliet, his long time employer.

One of the main questions surrounds why the criminal charges were filed against Nagra: the courthouse in Yorkville. According to police sources, Nagra was not working in the small area of Joliet Police jurisdiction in Kendall County. Nagra was not assigned the Joliet Police substation on Caton Farm Road in Kendall County, either. Nagra was assigned to the east side of Joliet for the past several years, sources indicated.

Patch also confirmed on Friday the city of Joliet payroll records for Nagra were handled through downtown Joliet, not someplace in Kendall County either. Joliet Patch previously has reported that Nagra was removed from regular duty after someone suspected that he got paid last year several thousand dollars in overtime that was falsified on his payroll time cards.

On Friday, Joliet Patch placed a phone call to the spokeswoman for the Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow, who will be up for re-election next year. Patch also inquired whether Brian Nagra's father, a retired Joliet Police detective, has worked in the past at the Will County State's Attorney's Office for Glasgow.

Her statement did not address the issue whether Nagra's father had worked for the Will County State's Attorney's Office in the past.

"We have been working very closely with the Joliet Police Department and the Kendall County State's Attorney's Office in this matter," Will County State's Attorney director of public affairs Carole Cheney responded to Joliet Patch on Friday. "We refer all inquiries to the Kendall County State's Attorney's Office."

Veteran Kendall County State's Attorney Eric Weis called Joliet Patch back on Friday afternoon said that his first assistant state's attorney had been handling the particulars on the case and his colleague as not in the office Friday. Weis said it was his understanding that Nagra was being charged in Kendall County because his payroll time sheets had been falsified in Kendall County.

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Patch then relayed to Weis that police sources around Joliet have been saying that Nagra has not been assigned to Kendall County in recent years, that he worked the east side of Joliet.

Weis said if that turns out to be true, the case should probably belong in Will County, not in Kendall County.

In any event, Joliet Patch placed a call to Police Chief Al Roechner seeking information surrounding Thursday's arrest but he did not call back. On Friday, Patch visited the downtown police station but officials indicated Roechner was not in the office Friday.

Roechner announced the termination of Nagra back in January. However, Nagra remained on the city payroll until early this month, when Nagra announced his retirement.

Nagra appealed the grounds of his termination, forcing the city of Joliet to keep him on the payroll. He stayed on the payroll long enough to mark his 20th anniversary with the city, which allowed him to qualify for his Joliet police pension.

Nagra officially retired this month.

Now, Nagra joins fellow longtime Joliet Police lieutenant Dennis McWherter, who faces several charges of official misconduct, also in Kendall County. McWherter was accused of stealing opioids from the Joliet Police Department west-side substation drug drop-off box on Caton Farm Road in Kendall County last October, according to court documents.

Similar to Nagra's case, the Joliet Police Department administration allowed McWherter to resign and begin collecting his Joliet Police pension before criminal charges were filed, which happened in mid-March.

In March, Joliet Police Homicide Detective David Jackson was charged with two counts of domestic battery by the Crest Hill Police after Jackson beat up his long-time mistress at her house in Crest Hill after a night of drinking and playing video slots at a bar in Joliet, according to Crest Hill Police reports.

However, on the eve of Jackson's trial a few weeks ago, the special prosecutor dropped the case, after learning that the Crest Hill victim did not want to cooperate and assist the prosecution.

And in June, Joliet Patch broke the news about the arrest of Joliet Police officer Bill Busse by the New Lenox Police Department in connection with allegations that Busse beat up his ex-wife at her home in New Lenox. Busse stands charged with domestic battery at the Will County Courthouse and his case remains in the pre-trial phase.

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