Attorney: Ashford 5 arrested without probable cause
By Casey Toner ctoner@southtownstar.com August 14, 2012 8:52PM
Updated: September 16, 2012 6:25AM
The arrests of five Indiana men accused of attacking an alleged white supremacist group in a Tinley Park restaurant in May were invalid, and evidence collected during the arrests should be inadmissible, their lawyers claimed Tuesday in court, according to one of the attorneys.
Brothers Jason Sutherlin, 33, Cody Sutherlin, 23, and Dylan Sutherlin, 20, as well as Alex Struck, 22, and John Tucker, 26, were charged with armed violence, mob action and aggravated battery for their roles in the May 19 attack at the Ashford House restaurant, 7959 W. 159th St.
Police have called the five “anti-racists,” saying they wielded bats and wore masks when they targeted a group calling themselves the Illinois European Heritage Association.
Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Deno previously said the five men were caught in a car at 183rd Street and Harlem Avenue soon after a 911 call, and police found baseball bats and batons in the trunk of their car.
James Fennerty, an attorney representing Cody Sutherlin, said lawyers representing the five men filed a joint motion Tuesday at the Cook County courthouse in Bridgeview challenging the legality of the traffic stop that led to their arrests. He said police knew the color of the car, but no specific details that linked it to the attack that occurred at the restaurant.
Fennerty said that if the motion is approved, no evidence taken from the car would be admissible in court. He said a hearing regarding the issue is slated for Sept. 27.
