Ex-Hall Monitor Charged With Gun Crimes Hopes To Exclude Evidence

SKOKIE, IL —The former Glenbrook North High School hall monitor awaiting trial on charges of impersonating a police officer and illegally possessing a gun on campus wants a judge to throw out most evidence of the incident that led to his arrest.

Steven Schulhof, 62, of Glenview, was arrested on Aug. 27, 2017, after police said he flashed a fake badge and claimed to be deputized following a traffic crash the prior night.

The latest attorney to represent the licensed private investigator and fired high school para-professional filed motions last month to suppress any evidence from the SUV he crashed in the school parking lot, from statements he made at the scene and from things Schulhof said to officers after police reported he invited them into his house the next day.

According to police reports, Schulhof said he had been training his German shepherd "Remi" in the lot by driving forward and backward with the hatch of his Landrover Discovery open with the dog in a kennel in the back luggage area and a loaded Walter .380 caliber handgun under the driver's seat. During the "back-up drills," the SUV struck a concrete parking lot light, OnStar was notified and a Northbrook police officer responded to the scene. The officer offered Schulhof medical attention and called a tow for the car.

Defense attorney Peter Petrakis argued the officer arrived and began questioning Schulhof before searching his vehicle without probable cause, permission, an emergency or a warrant. Schulhof's conduct "did not constitute reasonable suspicion that he had committed or was about to commit a crime."

But according to the report from the officer on scene, Schulhof volunteered the information the led to the charges. While waiting for a tow truck, the officer said he asked Schulhof if he needed to gather any property from the vehicle.

"Steven related that he needed to retrieve his firearm from underneath the driver's seat but could not reach it because the driver's side door wouldn't open," the officer reported. The officer said he looked into the car and noticed a black firearm.

"I asked Steven if he has a concealed carry card and he related, 'I have one better,'" according to the officer. "Steven said, 'I am deputized with the county,' and he showed me what looked like a six-pointed gold star attached to his waistband."

Schulhof then placed his pistol in a holster and collected his other property from the SUV, including two pocket knives, dog toys and dog collars labeled "Police K9," the officer reported.

Schulhof is also hoping to suppress any information learned by officers who interviewed him at his home the day after the crash. In a motion, his attorney claims police violated his rights against self-incrimination and unreasonable searches. Petrakis claims the officer's entry violated Schulhof's Fourth Amendment rights under Payton v New York, which forbids police from making non-consensual entry into a home to make a felony arrest without a warrant. But police said their entry was consensual and Schulhof was not arrested.

According to police, Schulhof invited the two officers into his home and met with them between about 5:15 and 8:30 p.m. the evening after the crash. He told them he was working a case as a private investigator but told police he could not disclose any information about what kind of investigation it was. He also said he was "always working 24 hours a day every day except when he was sleeping" and referred to training his dog as private investigator work.

Schulhof said he was last deputized more than four years earlier for a search of the McHenry County Jail, according to police reports. He said his dog had been deputized at the time and "the immunity runs up the leash." The supervisor of the McHenry County Sheriff K9 unit told police Schulhof was never deputized but had been allowed to observe the search as a trainer. According to his attorney, Schulhof may call as witnesses staff from Tops K-9 Training of Grayslake to attest to his "position as a narcotics detection canine handler."

At a second interview later that night at the police station, officers read Schulhof his Miranda rights, and he signed a form waiving his right to have an attorney present during questioning if detained. There is no indication from the reports that Schulhof had been detained at any point prior to the conclusion of that voluntary interview.

When police asked "Schulhof if he has ever been employed as a law enforcement officer anywhere in the world, he hesitated and appeared to be thinking intently before answering 'no.'" He also said he was aware of Illinois law forbidding the possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of school grounds for anyone but law enforcement officers engaged in their official duties, according to police reports.

Police said Schulhof explained the gun was in the car because he would have been too tired to go home to drop it off before training on the GBN campus. Prior to arriving at the high school that day, Schulhof related to police that he had driven to Milwaukee to drop his daughter off at college, stopped at an outdoor store in Kenosha, visited a friend's house in Deerfield and a Starbucks in Glenview.

From 2000 to 2017, Schulhof was employed by Glenbrook High Schools District 225 as a para-professional, earning $31,300 for 186.5 seven-hour days in his final year of employment. Schulhof has been a licensed private investigator in Illinois since 1995. He has held a valid firearm control card since 2013 but has never had a concealed carry license, which would be necessary to legally carry a loaded handgun under a driver's side seat of a vehicle — but not on school property.

A month after his arrest, the District 225 board approved a voluntary resignation agreement banning Schulhof from campus and eliminating "any risk that he might return," according to a statement from administrators. But a week later, Schulhof rescinded the agreement and the board voted unanimously to fire him.

Defense lawyer Petrakis has not responded to requests for comment. Schulhof remains free on a $50,000 bond that required him to turn over 40 firearms to police while the case is pending. No trial date has been set, and Schulhof is due back in court on March 7.

Earlier:

• Fake Badge Fails As Excuse For Glenbrook North Employee's Gun
• 40 Guns Confiscated From Suspended Glenbrook North Hall Monitor
  
• Fate Of Suspended Glenbrook North Hall Monitor's Job Up To Board
  
• Board Delays Decision On GBN Employee Charged With Cop Impersonation, Gun Crimes
  
• Gun-Wielding Hall Monitor Parts Ways With High School
  
• Indicted GBN Employee Rescinds Resignation, Gets Fired