A former
Downers Grove police officer accused of using his position on the force in a
scheme to rip off drug dealers has been sentenced to probation and periodic
imprisonment, authorities said Tuesday.
Randy
Caudill, 35, of Bolingbrook, pleaded guilty to official misconduct at a DuPage
County court hearing Monday. Judge George Bakalis sentenced him to two years of
probation and two months of periodic imprisonment in the county jail.
A veteran
officer, Caudill came under investigation in spring 2010 after authorities
received a tip that he was involved in illegal activity. Prosecutors said he
later was recorded while plotting to help an informant reclaim a $30,000 debt
by robbing four suspected drug dealers.
Authorities
said Caudill instructed the informant and an officer working undercover to get
a car with police lights and pull over the dealers under the guise of an
official traffic stop. He used his police computer to find license plate
information on the dealers, and offered to supply his would-be accomplices with
badges and a bulletproof vest, according to prosecutors.
Caudill
had no prior criminal record and was a Downers Grove officer for about nine
years. Before that, he worked for two years for the sheriff’s office, where he
was assigned to the jail. He also has worked security for a Downers Grove car
dealership.
Caudill’s
attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday. As a result of
his conviction, Caudill must enter his DNA into a law enforcement database of
known felons, prosecutors said. Had he been convicted at trial, he could have
faced up to five years in prison. He is scheduled to report to jail June 17.