DJ Lee's Story 

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The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it and ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. - Winston Churchill

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Questions That Should Be Asked

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Why did it take 4 years for DJ Lee to have his right to trial? 

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In 2018, MCAO prosecutor, Catherine Ferguson-Gilbert started an internal investigation with MCSO’s Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) about the lead detective/case agent (Albert Bouchard) deleting evidence.

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In her video-recorded interview with PSB below, the prosecutor states that if the case went to trial it would likely lead to a not guilty verdict and would be “really bad” for MSCO/MCAO; therefore, they (meaning MCSO and MCAO) should work together to prevent it from going to trial, since they “are on the same team”.

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Also seen in these videos, Detective Albert Bouchard acknowledged that he purposely deleted Sarah Lee’s (DJ’s wife) interview.

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CLICK on the 3 horizontal bars below this video to view additional videos of the conversations between PSB, the prosecutor, and Detective Bouchard. 

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• Why was DJ Lee charged with 11 felonies and 2 misdemeanors?

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• ​Originally, there were 4 charges on DJ Lee’s indictment. Shortly after, MCAO dropped the charges to 1 charge. We believe that once the prosecutor saw the case, saw that DJ Lee had no priors, was a first responder/public servant and that the “victim” had no injuries, never called 911 and the “victim” could not even pick DJ out of a lineup, she realized there was no merit for 4 charges.  However, once the story went to the media, his charges more than tripled to 11 felonies and 2 misdemeanors. According to a source at one media station, MCSO contacted the station to release the story.  It is important to note that DJ's indictment was not initially picked up by the media because MCSO deliberately did not utilize procedural radio communication, rather MCSO used a 3rd party communication platform called "WhatsApp" that kept media sources from realizing the extent of MCSO's involvement and their attempts to protect the "victim".   Realizing that this was a direct result of media sensationalism, on 12/15/2017, DJ told the prosecutor that he wanted to tell his side to the media, to which she replied, “no, don’t do that, that is the reason we are here.”

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• What evidence did MCSO have to support these charges? The statements of the          "victim"? 

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• The only evidence to support these charges is hearsay statements by the “victim”.

• Photo evidence does not demonstrate a single injury claimed by the victim.

• The “victim” claims to be strangled by DJ Lee to the point of unconsciousness yet, there is no evidence of bruising, strangulation, or peticiation. DJ Lee is a 200 lb firefighter. If strangulation occurred as the “victim” claimed it is only logical that there would be significant physical evidence documented by MCSO.​

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• https://www.acepnow.com/article/how-to-evaluate-strangulation/

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• The “victim” changed his stories/statements multiple times.He can be heard in an interview stating that he was not hurt and did not need medical attention.

• He did not call 911.

• He could not even pick DJ out of a photo lineup. He also stated that he was “100% certain that DJ was not in any of the 5 photos shown”.

• Several pieces of evidence collected at the scene were submitted, not once, but 3 times for DNA evaluation, and ALL the evidence submitted came back negative.

• The morning after the alleged incident, an MCSO detective (Matthew Ratcliffe) was parked outside of the Lee residence and admitted that while he was watching, he saw Sarah outside, alone feeding the animals, and she seemed completely fine “business as usual”. He also saw DJ in the backyard playing with his kids later in the morning. There was no evidence that showed anyone was in distress or hurt. Which was in stark contrast to what the “victim” had shared with MCSO.

• There were several documented text messages in evidence that repeatedly told the “victim”  to “stay away” yet he still showed up, unwelcomed after 1 AM. 

• MCSO detectives told Sarah that she had grounds to file trespassing charges; however, when she requested to do so in 2017, 2018, and 2019, MCSO denied her requests each time. Additionally, DJ was also told in his interview by MCSO detective Steve Horath, that they would charge the “victim” with trespassing, but never did.

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•    Who were the MCSO detectives on DJ's case? Why were they under investigation?

 

 

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•  Please see "MCSO Officer Misconduct" page and "Misconduct Continued" page for  details.

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• How was the "victim" related to an MCSO detective?​

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• The "victim" is the nephew of an MCSO Captian who was ahead of the MCSO’s Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) at the time. Additionally, an on-scene source the day of the incident who wishes to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation from MCSO, stated that the uncle was on the scene the day of the incident and was the one “pulling all of the strings” and took over the investigation and how it should go. It should be noted that the uncle took precautions within MCSO to hide his presence as there was no radio traffic or MCT notifications that he was on the scene. 

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• What other motive would MCSO have to charge DJ Lee with so many felonies?

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• Fighting For Firefighter believes the motive was to cover up that MCSO violated several legal policies and procedures including bringing SWAT, pointing assault rifles at DJ, Sarah, and their children, choosing not to turn on body-worn cameras, and choosing not to communicate over normal radio, but over a secret account through “What’s App”.

• MCSO brought a K-9 unit, and all 3 MCSO's BearCat armored cars, 5 different detectives, and over 30 other officers.

• MCSO strangled DJ’s dog, drove down his unlocked fence with a BearCat, and arrested him in front of his kids without so much as asking his side of the story.  

• MCSO did not follow their own legal policy and procedures and used the statements of the "victim", the one person who had motive and would benefit from DJ Lee being arrested, as MCSO's defense to behave in violation of their own policies and procedures.

• It is the position of Fighting for Firefighter that MCSO grossly misled the media, purposely deleted evidence, produced fake warrants, and purposely misled MCAO to cover up the fact that they violated legal policies and procedures to protect one of their own and cover up the “victim’s” culpability as the true aggressor/perpetrator. 

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• DJ and his family were victims of a home invasion in 2011. How could that experience with MCSO detectives influence this case?

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• See the information regarding Detective Steve Horath on the "Misconduct Continued" page.

• It should be noted that the home invasion incident in 2011 at DJ Lee’s residence involved a career criminal who previously had 28 convicted misdemeanors, 6 felony assault charges, a suspended license, and a warrant out for his arrest. He also had just as long of a criminal history for home invasions in Illinois. It took MCSO officer William Coleman over 30 minutes to arrive on the scene for a home invasion knowing that it had been reported that shots were fired. For this incident, there was one detective on the scene who showed up hours later, no SWAT, no armored tanks, and no K9 unit.  

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The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it and ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. - Winston Churchill

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