McHenry County Blog

A press release from McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi:

TAMMY NEWSOME SENTENCED TO FOUR YEARS IN THE PENITENTIARY

Louis A. Bianchi, McHenry County State’s Attorney, announces that Tammy Newsome, 49, of Lake in the Hills, was sentenced today to four years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the class 2 felony offense of Aggravated Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol.

The Defendant pled guilty in May to driving on McHenry Avenue and Randall Road, near Crystal Lake, while under the influence of alcohol.

When officers attempted to stop her, she fled, but was apprehended at Alexandra Boulevard.

In sentencing her to the Department of Corrections, the Court declined to impose the minimum three-year term. Instead, the Court found that the defendant’s conduct posed a serious risk of harm to the officers involved in her pursuit, and that a lesser sentence would threaten public safety.

This case was investigated by the Crystal Lake Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Matt Ciesielski.

A press release from McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi:

DANIEL BENDING FOUND GUILTY OF DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE (CAUSING DEATH) AND DRIVING WITH A BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION OF 0.08 OR MORE (CAUSING DEATH)

Louis A. Bianchi, McHenry County State’s Attorney, announces that 49 year old Daniel Bending, formerly of Marengo, was found guilty of the offenses of Driving with a Blood Alcohol Concentration of 0.08 or more (Causing Death) and Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol (Causing Death).

The Defendant was arrested after having struck Leonard Anderson, a 77-year old truck driver, as he crossed Route 20 on foot in Marengo on April 18, 2008.

A blood test revealed that the Defendant’s blood alcohol concentration nearly 2½ hours after striking Leonard Anderson was 0.081.

Leonard Anderson survived the initial crash, but later succumbed to his injuries.

This case was investigated by Sergeant Fritz, Detective Christian, Sergeant Riley, and Officer Bass of the Marengo Police Department and Deputy Sabol of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department. T

he case was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally, Robert Zalud, and Alexander Geocaris.

A press release from the McHenry County State’s Attorney:

McHENRY RESIDENT SENTENCED TO FOUR YEARS TO THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS FOR AGGRAVATED DUI

Louis A. Bianchi, McHenry County State’s Attorney announces that on March 27, 2012, Defendant, Sandra Brazlawski was sentenced to four years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the offense of Aggravated Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol.

The Defendant was arrested by the McHenry Police Department for DUI in July 3, 2011.

Further investigation into her driving history revealed multiple prior convictions for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol under two different names.

The case was investigated by Officer Harris of the McHenry Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney David Johnston.

A press release from the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office:

STEVEN L. MANSON SENTENCED TO TWENTY YEARS IN THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

Louis A. Bianchi, McHenry County State’s Attorney, announces that 41 year old Steven L. Manson, formerly of McHenry, was sentenced on August 12, 2011 to a total of 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the Class 2 felony offense of Aggravated Intimidation and the Class 1 felony offense of Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol.

The Aggravated Intimidation offense occurred on June 13, 2009 when Manson left overtly threatening messages on a McHenry County Sheriff’s Detective’s telephone after she refused to dismiss criminal charges pending at the time against the defendant’s son.

Manson was subsequently stopped by the police on September 1, 2009 after he was observed driving erratically.

The arresting officer noted that the defendant appeared visibly drunk, failed field sobriety tests, was verbally abusive and maintained an open bottle of vodka in the center console of his vehicle.

The defendant possesses a lengthy criminal history, including multiple prior felony convictions and four prior DUI convictions.

These cases were investigated by the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department and prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally.

The McHenry County State’s Attorney sent this press release:

CRYSTAL LAKE MAN SENTENCED TO NINE YEARS FOR AGGRAVATED DUI CAUSING DEATH

Uri Herrera-Garcia

Louis A. Bianchi, McHenry County State’s Attorney, announces today that Uri C. Herrera-Garcia, 24, of Crystal Lake, was sentenced to nine years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for Aggravated Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol Causing Death (Class 2 Felony).

In the early morning hours of October 25, 2009, Uri Herrera-Garcia drove a vehicle on Rte. 120 at Tijuana Drive in Lakemoor, Illinois.

He lost control of the car, drove off the roadway and collided with a tree.

A passenger in the vehicle, Leonardo Elias (d.o.b: 2/18/91), died from the injuries he received during this accident. Mr. Herrera-Garcia was found at the scene of the crash with blood on his face.

Later hospital toxicology testing, as well as police testing, revealed a blood alcohol level in Mr. Herrera-Garcia that was greater than 0.08. In addition, his DNA matched DNA found on the air bag of the crashed car.

Mr. Herrera-Garcia failed to show up in court and was later arrested on a warrant, at which time he admitted to Crystal Lake Police Officers to driving the car involved in the collision.

Mr. Herrera-Garcia will be required to serve 85% of his prison sentence before being eligible for parole.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Ryan Blackney.

A press release from the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office:

CRYSTAL LAKE MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO AGGRAVATED DUI CAUSING DEATH CHARGE

WOODSTOCK – Louis A. Bianchi, McHenry County State’s Attorney, announces today that Uri C. Herrera-Garcia, 24, of Crystal Lake, entered a plea of guilty to one count of Aggravated Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol Causing Death (Class 2 Felony).

Uri C. Herrera-Garcia

In the late evening hours of October 25, 2009, Uri Herrera-Garcia drove a vehicle on Rte. 120 at Tijuana Drive in Lakemoor, Illinois.

He lost control of his vehicle that drove off the roadway and collided with a tree off of the roadway.

A passenger in the vehicle, Leonardo Elias (dob: 2/18/91), perished as a result of the injuries he received during this accident.0

Mr. Herrera-Garcia was found at the scene of the crash and had blood on his face.

Later hospital toxicology testing, as well as police testing, revealed a blood alcohol level in Mr. Herrera-Garcia that was greater than 0.08.

Mr. Herrera-Garcia later admitted to Crystal Lake police officers when arrested on a warrant to driving the motor vehicle involved in this case.

A DNA test performed on the air bag of the vehicle the defendant was driving matched the DNA belonging to Mr. Herrera-Garcia.

Mr. Herrera-Garcia’s next court date is April 15, 2011, where a sentence will be imposed. This offense is probationable, and if prison is imposed, there is a range of 3 to 14 years in prison. Mr. Herrera-Garcia would be required to serve 85% of any prison sentence before being eligible for parole.

McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi continues his campaign against drunk drivers, as is evidenced by the following press release:

WOODSTOCK WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO AGGRAVATED DUI

CAUSING DEATH

Louis A. Bianchi, McHenry County State’s Attorney, announces that Tania Cederholm, 35, of Woodstock, entered a plea of guilty to one count of Aggravated Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol Causing Death—a class 2 felony.

Location of the accident, east of Marengo

In the late evening hours of February 21, 2007, Tania Cederholm drove her vehicle northbound on Dunham Rd. At the intersection of 176 and Dunham, Cederholm’s vehicle entered into the intersection, pulling in front of an oncoming vehicle that was traveling eastbound and was being driven by David LeJeune of Rockford.

After striking Cederholm’s vehicle, Mr. LeJeune’s vehicle spun into the oncoming lane of westbound traffic and was struck by a third vehicle.

Mr. LeJeune later died due to the injuries he sustained. Other persons involved in the three car collision received non-life threatening injuries.

Ms. Cederholm’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was determined to be .246 based on a toxicology screen performed during her medical treatment. Ms. Cederholm had a prior DUI violation from 2004.

Ms. Cederholm’s next court date is February 10, 2011, where a date will be set for sentencing. This offense is probationable, and if prison is imposed, there is a range of 3 to 14 years in prison. Ms. Cederholm would be required to serve 85% of any prison sentence before being eligible for parole.

This case was investigated by Sgt. Karen Groves of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department, and was prosecuted by Phil Hiscock and Ryan Blackney of the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Crystal Lake law enforcement officers found three percent of late night drivers on the Tuesday and Wednesday between Christmas and New Year’s Eve were intoxicated.

Three out of the ninety-nine vehicles stopped had alcohol impaired drivers. Forty-one citations were issued.

The effort was financed by a $1,375.08 grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation.  The press release follows:

The Crystal Lake Police and Crystal Lake Park District Police Departments Joined “You Drink and Drive, You Lose” to Reduce Roadway Fatalities

Roadside Safety Check Enforcement – Results

During overnight hours from December 28th, to the 29th, 2010, The Crystal Lake Police Department, along with the Crystal Lake Park District Police, conducted a Roadside Safety Checkpoint Enforcement campaign.

This event was part of the Illinois Department of Transportation’s (IDOT) Sustained Traffic Enforcement Program conducted for the Christmas-New Year’s holiday. Law enforcement agencies throughout Illinois participated in this statewide effort to save lives by removing impaired drivers off our roads and to encourage more motorists to buckle up during late-night hours.

During the four hour event; from 11:00 PM until 3:00 AM, Officers checked ninety-five vehicles traveling along US Rt. 14 for signs of impairment and safety violations.

The joint effort resulted in the issuance of a total of forty-one traffic citations, and the arrests of eight subjects. Citations issued were for

• seatbelt violations
• operation of uninsured motor vehicles
• motor vehicle equipment violation
• driver’s license violations and
• driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Three motorists were arrested for DUI, and four others were charged with drug offenses.

The recent law enforcement crackdown was funded by federal traffic safety funds through IDOT’s Division of Traffic Safety and is part of the statewide “You Drink & Drive. You Lose” and “Click It or Ticket” campaigns.

More such events are planned for throughout the upcoming year.

One of the hallmarks of McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi’s time in office has been vigorous prosecution of those who drink and drive. Here’s the latest sentence, this time of a motorcyclist:

MAN SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS

IN THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

FOR FOURTH DUI

Louis A. Bianchi, McHenry County State’s Attorney, announces that Dale Frohling, of Ringwood, Illinois, was sentenced to three (3) years in the Department of Corrections on December 14, 2010 for the offense of Aggravated Driving Under the Influence.

Dale Frohling was previously found guilty by a jury on September 29, 2010.

The evidence at trial revealed that the defendant had been gulping beer minutes before getting on his motorcycle to go for a ride.

The evidence showed that the defendant was unable to navigate a simple curve and crashed into some bushes and a tree off the roadway.

Defendant was transported to the hospital for treatment following the crash.

A forensic toxicologist testified that the defendant’s blood alcohol level was between .117 and .149 at the time of the crash.  The presumptive level of intoxication in Illinois is .08.

This was the defendant’s fourth violation of the DUI statute.

This case was investigated by Deputy Jazak of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department and prosecuted for the State by Assistant State’s Attorneys Sharyl Eisenstein and Ryan Blackney.

Below is a press release from the Harvard Police Department about how it spent a  state grant to go after intoxicated drivers:

Illinois Department of Transportation STEP Grant

In September, the Harvard Police Department was awarded an Illinois Department of Transportation grant for a Sustained Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP).

STEP is a year-round campaign to combat intoxicated driving and promote occupant protection. The grant allows the Harvard Police Department to hire back officers to conduct roving, saturation patrols in an effort to reduce night time driving accidents, fatalities and impaired driving.

The first campaign was a 24-hour hire back.

This campaign ran from November 11th until November 26th and resulted in

• two arrests for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol,
• one arrest for Driving While Suspended, two citations for No Insurance and
• seven other citations.

The second campaign commences December 17th and will run until the beginning of January.

The Harvard Police Department would like to remind our motoring community to utilize seat belts and child restraints during this holiday season.

Furthermore, during the holiday season, partygoers are encouraged to designate a driver or make other arrangements to avoid driving under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants.

The Harvard Police Department wishes our community a safe and joyous holiday season.