Dec 11, 2007 11:00 pm US/Pacific
Source: Investigation Of Shooting At Peterson Home
Reported Shooting Occurred Prior To Stacy Peterson's Disappeance
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Former police Sgt. Drew Peterson stands in front of the garage of his home in Bolingbrook, Ill., on Nov. 17, 2007. He is a suspect in his wife's disappearance.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Investigators in the disappearance of Stacy Peterson case might be looking
for a bullet hole in Peterson's Bolingbrook home, WBBM-TV learned Tuesday night.
The news comes as the former police officer makes a public plea for
money.
It has been more than 40 days since Stacy Peterson disappeared and a
source revealed for the first time that Stacy Peterson was nearly
shot.
As WBBM-TV West Suburban Bureau Chief Mike Puccinell reports,
police investigators have been looking into a shooting that sources say occurred
inside the Peterson home several months before Stacy Peterson disappeared.
At the time, sources say, Stacy Peterson was in the garage getting a
soda at the request of her husband. Drew Peterson was in the master bedroom
above the garage when his gun fired. The bullet reportedly went through the
floor and slammed into the concrete garage floor about a foot behind where the
young mother was standing.
A source says Drew Peterson claimed it was an
accident involving his police-issued weapon. The source also says then-Sergeant
Peterson never reported the shooting to authorities. It's not clear if the hole
through the floor of the master bedroom was ever repaired.
WBBM-TV has
also learned that investigators are looking into reports that Peterson may have
blown off a police-issued flash bang grenade on the Fourth of July two years
ago.
It's all part of an investigation of what's been called a potential
homicide case, a case with one declared suspect -- Drew Peterson.
"This
is the biggest law enforcement effort in the country that's been launched
against me," Drew Peterson said in Bolingbrook Tuesday evening. "Yeah, I'm under
siege."
Meanwhile, in order to fight back against that "siege", Peterson
has a new Web site aimed at helping raise money for his legal defense and to
hire a private investigator to search for Stacy Peterson. Any remaining money
will be put into a trust for Peterson's children.
The site was suspended
Tuesday evening, possibly due to overwhelming traffic.
The site blames
"media sensationalism" for creating hardship for Drew Peterson and his family.
Drew Peterson would not talk on-camera Tuesday about DefendDrew.com. But
he did make a statement off-camera saying, "I worked hard all my life to earn
the little I have. Defending myself has the potential to take all of that away
from me and my family. I'm just trying to get some help from the American
people."
And he's hoping that help will come in the form of cash.
Suggested donations start at $5 and go all the way up to $250.
But Drew
Peterson's attorney says his client is innocent until proven guilty and that's
why he's asking the public to help level the playing field for Peterson in the
face of what he says is an unprecedented law enforcement onslaught.
Attorney Joel Brodsky also says any money collected on DefendDrew.com
will go into a trust account over which Peterson will have no control.
"If he would try foot the bill himself, he would be impoverished,"
Brodsky said. "He would lose his house, he would lose his cars. Him and his four
minor children, the ones that he's supporting, would be homeless."
But
Peterson neighbor Sharon Bychowski says her next door neighbor is a lot better
off than most people.
"I think it's almost ludicrous at this point to
think that people should send money to a man that's sitting in a home that's all
paid for when we still need to find Stacy," Bychowski said.
Peterson has
denied involvement in his wife's disappearance and has said she left him for
another man.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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