Detectives John Munn and Darrell Moore have been lauded by national, state, and local law enforcement organizations and legal groups over the past year for their efforts that eventually led to the vacating of a former Aurora man’s murder conviction in 2012.  

Their latest honors come from their own agency with the pair being named the Aurora Police Department’s 2012 Co-Employees of the Year. 

 “Innocent individuals serving time in prison is wrong”, Chief of Police Greg Thomas told the two investigators during a ceremony held at the Aurora Police Department. “(The defendant) Jonathon Moore had his trial and exhausted his appeals.  No one was going to help him, but you took it upon yourselves to correct the situation and an innocent person was rightfully set free.  Your actions were courageous and heroic.” 

Munn and Moore’s efforts began in April, 2011, when they received information from a confidential informant that Jonathan Moore, who was 20 years old when he was convicted in a 2000 shooting that claimed the life of a 20 year old Montgomery man, was not involved in the crime. 

Jonathan Moore had been indicted in September, 2000, on murder, attempted murder, and aggravated battery with a firearm charges and convicted by a Kane County jury in 2002.  He was sentenced later that year to 75 years in prison.  In 2004, the Illinois Appellate Court Second District upheld the conviction but reduced the portion of the sentence for attempted murder by five years. 

Once the new information came to the attention of Investigators Munn and Moore, they re-interviewed prior witnesses and located 10 new people who had pertinent information on the case but did not come forward originally.  After conferring with the Kane County State’s Attorney throughout the investigation, Jonathan Moore’s conviction was vacated on March 6, 2012 after he served 13 years in prison. 

Detective Munn has been with the Aurora Police since 1998 while Detective Moore joined the department in 1996. 

Others named as Employees or Co-Employees of the month for 2012 included: 

Officer Daniel Gray who stopped three men in a vehicle for driving erratically. He learned that the men had just burglarized a house in unincorporated Aurora.  He ended up confiscating two guns and other proceeds and secured felony charges against the three. 

Officers Jonathan Olsen, Jason Woolsey, and David Bemer for talking an armed man out of an apartment where he had just sexually assaulted his former girlfriend, beat another man, and was holding his and his former girlfriend’s young daughter. 

Officer Shireen Long for de-escalating a dangerous situation with an out-of-control man who was acting erratically while holding hammers in both of his hands.  Officer Long, a trained crisis negotiator, was able to calm the man down and he surrendered peacefully. 

Officer Dave Brian for initiating the follow-up questioning of a man stopped for suspicious behavior which later led to possession of child pornography, burglary, criminal trespass, and disorderly conduct charges in connection with several “Peeping Tom” incidents on the West side. 

Officers Brian Baumann, Christopher Grandchamp, Enrique Huerta, Sandra Martinez, Christopher Cox, John Gray, Laura Kolanowski, Sandra Navarrete, Aendri Decker, Kyle Hoffman, Ramon Lopez, Steven Pacenti; and Sergeants Jeff Tate and Eric Westrom for their efforts that saved a 16 and a 39 year old man who had crashed their car into a tree, from being severely burned. 

Officer Matt Bonnie who, while off-duty, came across a burning, occupied vehicle that was involved in a  crash in Oswego.  He ended up rescuing a Yorkville man from the burning car and saved his life. 

Officer Laurie Pekich who launched an investigation into a registered sex offender who resides in the Kendall County portion of the City that was arrested by federal authorities.  After reviewing travel documents for the suspect, who flew frequently, Pekich was able to secure additional felony charges under state statutes against the man. 

Officer Sandra Navarrete, who, while off-duty, heard noises outside her Aurora home and when she looked outside, saw four men breaking into a car.  She proceeded to call 9-1-1, attempted to chase down the suspects, and with the help of backup officers, took two of them into custody.  Eventually the other two men were caught and all four were charged with felonies after being connected to several vehicle burglaries. 

Aurora Police Records Clerks Cheryl Joyce and Tammy Renaud for coming to aid of a 19 year old cadet who was choking on a piece of food.  Ms. Joyce noticed that the cadet look disoriented when he was exiting his vehicle and when she checked on him, she realized he was choking.  She yelled to Ms. Renaud, who was in the same general area, who responded and administered the Heimlich maneuver which dislodged the object.

Investigator Steve Stemmet and Sergeant Rob Wallers for working together while off-duty to secure the arrest of a gang member wanted for questioning in an attempted murder case. After receiving a tip that the suspect was in Geneva, Stemmet contacted Wallers who lives in the Tri-Cities area. Wallers immediately went to the location with backup officers from both Aurora and Geneva. Wallers and one of the backup Aurora officers took the man into custody without incident and the suspect was charged.

Officer Dave Hornburg for saving the life of a 56 year old heart attack victim after being the first to arrive at a home on a call for a man who had stopped breathing. After paramedics arrived, Hornburg continued to administer CPR even though it appeared his efforts would be fruitless.  The man underwent an emergency procedure once at the hospital and is responding well to out-patient therapy.