A California man convicted of making terrorism threats in Lake County was found mentally unfit to be sentenced Thursday by a Lake County Circuit Court judge.
At the conclusion of a fitness hearing that sporadically spanned weeks and was marked by outbursts from defendant Daniel Pederson, Judge Mark Levitt found Pederson unfit for sentencing for the second time.
The case against Pederson began on Sept. 12, 2014, when prosecutors said he called the Illinois Department of Health Care and Family Services and said he was going to “kill people” and “light up” the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan, as well as the Gurnee Police Department.
Last fall, Levitt found Pederson unfit for sentencing due to his behavior following his conviction by a jury on charges of making a terrorism threat, a felony that carries a potential sentence of six to 30 years in prison.
At that time, he was sent to a state mental health facility in Elgin for a 90-day fitness review and treatment, and now the process will be repeated, with another 90-day period of evaluation and treatment.
Pederson, 35, appeared both surprised and angered by Levitt’s ruling Thursday that he must return to Elgin. Three expert witnesses had testified that they believe he is not fit for sentencing.
“Do you know how pissed I am at you people?” he said loudly, appearing to be directing the comments toward his defense attorneys, who he had criticized throughout the fitness hearing.
Public Defender Keith Grant had argued in favor of Pederson being found unfit for sentencing, noting his outbursts in court, claims that his jury trial was “rigged” and repeated statements that the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, the courts and even the Elgin facility were part of a “circle of collusion.”
Assistant state’s attorneys Ben Dillon and Lauren Callinan had maintained Pederson had been restored to fitness and that both his behavior in court and decision not to cooperate with defense attorneys were a choice, and not proof that he was unfit to be sentenced.
Levitt said that after carefully reviewing testimony and reports from the hearing, his conclusion was that Pederson’s “personality disorders” have not been treated to the extent that he is fit for sentencing. He said Pederson, “could still be restored to fitness within a year” of his initial evaluation in Elgin. If he is still not found fit after that year has passed, a second year of 90-day treatment and evaluation cycles could be ordered, officials said.
Pederson asked to take the stand Thursday, and for much of the day commented on portions of his fitness report from Elgin, not objecting to its conclusion that he was restored to fitness but disagreeing with statements it contained about his alleged minor misbehavior at the facility and his attitude toward authority figures there.
Pederson also said he believed that Grant had ordered him sent to Elgin because Pederson wanted to fire him as his public defender, a claim Grant pointed out in his argument at the end of the hearing. Levitt had found Pederson unfit due to his behavior during an aborted sentencing hearing last year.
Earlier Thursday, while on the stand, Pederson indicated that he believed he was fit for a sentencing hearing, but also said he did not believe he would be able to cooperate with his current defense attorneys or any other attorneys from Lake or Cook counties.
When Dillon asked Pederson Thursday morning whether he understood that after his sentencing he would be going to prison, Pederson responded, “Yes, and then I’m going to come back here on appeal and embarrass you guys.
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“I’m going to sue you guys for so much money, it’s not going to be funny,” Pederson said from the stand. “You guys absolutely ruined my life based on lies.”
Pederson said the charges against him were due to “a third-party, fabricated bomb threat.”
Pederson’s fitness hearing began in mid-December, but was abruptly halted after he began loudly making obscenity-laced statements about a “circle of collusion” and corruption in the Lake County court system. He also repeatedly has criticized Grant, charging that he has not tried to provide him with an adequate defense, and has asked that Grant be removed as his public defender.
After Thursday’s ruling, neither prosecutors nor Grant had any comment on the judge’s ruling.
Following his next evaluation period in the state facility, Pederson is scheduled for another court appearance before Levitt on May 3.
Throughout the fitness hearing that ended Thursday, Pederson also criticized the civil courts in Lake County, claiming that he has not been allowed to see his son in years due to rulings in civil court.
Pederson has other active cases in Lake County. He has previous indictments for violating an order of protection in Vernon Hills in 2013, and five counts of telephone harassment involving a threat to kill in 2012 in Round Lake. He was extradited to Lake County from California in October 2014 due to the telephone threats to Gurnee police and the county.
Initially, Pederson had agreed to a plea deal, but then withdrew his guilty plea and was convicted of the charge at trial last year.
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