Crime & Safety

Prosecutors: Ex-Cop Charged with Theft Said He'd 'Shoot Himself' if Police Came

Scott Webb was found Oct. 18 with a loaded handgun and about $5,000 on him after a five-month search for the ex-cop charged with theft from a police charity, officials said.

A Woodridge ex-cop kept a loaded handgun with him in Missouri and said he would "shoot himself if the police came for him," Assistant State’s Attorney Helen Kapas said Wednesday. 

Scott A. Webb, 39, of Romeoville, appeared via camera for his bond hearing in DuPage County court Wednesday morning. 

Before requesting Webb's bail be increased to $2 million, Kapas detailed Webb's alleged thefts and flight and his discovery.

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Webb, a 10-year veteran of the , started and organized bar crawls to benefit Illinois C.O.P.S., an organization which benefits the loved ones of slain police officers. 

Kapas said that in 2009 and 2010, Illinois C.O.P.S. did not receive donations following the two bar crawls, called "Crawlin' for the Fallen." 

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Grand jury records indicated two large deposits were made to Webb's personal bank account following the 2009 and 2010 events. These deposits were separate from payroll deposits from the , she said.

In 2009, the amount deposited was $11,283. In 2010, the amount was $5,707. In total, more than $30,000 was taken, Kapas said. The State's Attorney's Office contacted Webb's then-attorney, Joseph Mazzone, on May 23 when the warrant for Webb's arrest was obtained, per Mazzone's request. 

Mazzone said Webb would turn himself in by 3 p.m. May 24. Webb never did. 

At 1 p.m. May 24, Webb withdrew $16,500 from his bank account, Kapas said. He met with his sister, Dawn Ferralez, gave her $2,000 and his home keys and said goodbye.

He told Ferralez to sell his possessions from his home in Romeoville and asked her to write down her phone number and address, Kapas said, so that he would have that information without having to turn on his cell phone. 

with a loaded handgun, $4,500 in cash and three money orders for $500 each, she said. He had told the two people he was living with that his name was Jeff Waits. Their names were on the apartment lease; his was not. 

The vehicle he fled in was concealed in a locked area, Kapas said. Expired Washington, DC plates had been placed over the Illinois plates. 

Defense Attorney Jack Donahue said it was unlikely Webb would post bail. If he did, a GPS device would be put on him to prevent him from fleeing. 

Ferralez, Webb's sister, said the numbers don't add up. The money he had on him was from sick and vacation pay that the Woodridge Police Department owed him, she said. 

She also questioned why, if Webb had deposited $16,000 following the fundraisers, that information hadn't come to light earlier in the investigation. 

"Why would they have him on paid administrative leave if there was something that black and white?" she said. 

Ferralez said she didn't know where that money came from; she'd have to look over the bank records and ask Webb, she said. But she said she doubts it came from the fundraiser. Most of the cash donated went toward paying for the event, Ferralez said, from the hotel to alcohol and food. 

"None of it makes sense," she said. "It doesn't add up." 

Ferralez said Webb met with her and gave her $2,000. It was something he promised her "a long time ago," she said. Ferralez has three children and two grandchildren.

"I have a small car that couldn't fit all the kids," she said. "I needed something bigger. That's what he gave me the money for. It was something he promised me before any of this happened. ... We are very close, and he's always done everything he could for me and my children." 

She said Webb told her to sell possessions, which she thought was to raise bail money. He also asked her to write down her phone number and address, she said.


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