Man Involved in Cop Perjury Case Charged in Fatal Hit-and-Run

MORTON GROVE, IL - The man at the center of a police perjury controversy that resulted in criminal charges filed against four officers in Chicago and Glenview has been charged in connection to a hit-and-run death that occurred in Morton Grove two weeks ago.

Joseph Sperling, 26, of Glenview, has been charged with reckless homicide, aggravated driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a fatal crash by police in Morton Grove in connection to the Aug. 26 death of 48-year-old Denise Caveda of Chicago, who was killed in a hit-and-run crash near Golf Road and Ozanam Avenue.

Sperling turned himself in on Thursday and was expected in court on Friday, according to a Chicago Tribune report.

Sperling made headlines earlier in the decade when he was pulled over by police in Glenview and taken into custody in a drug case in which a significant amount of marijuana had been found in his car. Charges were later dropped when video evidence was presented in court that contradicted police statements.

Police claimed in court they took Sperling into custody after the marijuana was found, but video evidence showed he was handcuffed as soon as the traffic stop was initiated and before the marijuana was found.

Four officers - three from Chicago and one from Glenview - were charged with perjury in a case that’s still pending in Cook County court. An additional Glenview officer involved in the story that later turned out to be false wasn’t charged or fired.

Police in Morton Grove now say it was Sperling who was impaired and drove his black Lexus on Golf Road at a high rate of speed, killing Ceveda. He is accused of fleeing the scene on foot.

More via the Chicago Tribune

Photo: Morton Grove Police Department