BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) — A published report shows jail visits of up to eight hours between a southern Illinois judge and a parolee who lived with him and was later charged with first-degree murder.
Ron Duebbert, who won election in November, was placed on administrative duties following a January complaint filed against him with the Judicial Inquiry Board. It accuses him violating rules of judicial conduct during the murder investigation involving parolee, David E. Fields.
Fields was convicted for battery of a pregnant woman, paroled in October and lived with Duebbert. Months later, Fields was back in custody and charged in the December killing of Carl Silas.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports Duebbert regularly visited Fields in jail. The newspaper cites visitor logs obtained through a lawsuit after being denied an information request.
Duebbert has declined comment.