Crime & Safety

South Suburban Drunken Driving Arrests, Oct. 23

Budweiser on the car floor. The beer didn't make me drive poorly, the sandwich did. And a light wind blows in the Breathalyzer. A roundup of recent DUI arrests, and a poll on first-time DUI punishments.

Oct. 13: Michelle Lonzo, 38, of the 9500 block of Hampton Drive in Highland, IN, was charged with driving under the influence and speeding after being pulled over near the intersection of Hillside Road and Lincoln Highway. Her court date is Nov. 13. UPDATED (11:02 a.m. July 2, 2012): On Dec. 21, 2011, the DUI charge was dropped by prosecutors, and the speeding charge was reduced to reckless driving, according to court records. Lonzo was fined $2,200 and put under a year's supervision, court records stated.

Oct. 12: Lashun Miller, 39, of the 7930 block of Carpenter Street in Chicago, was arrested for driving under the influence, aggravated driving with a suspended license, driving without insurance, possession of marijuana, failure to signal, improper lane use and disobeying a traffic control device after being pulled over in the 9500 block of Lincoln Highway. His next court date is Nov. 2.

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Nicole A. Wardinski, 24, of the 300 block of Sunset Trail in New Lenox, was charged with driving under the influence and speeding after a traffic stop in the 8400 block of Lincoln Highway. Her next court date is Nov. 4.

Oct. 11: Bruce A. Nelson, 54, of the 12800 block of West Timber Lane in Mokena, was charged with driving under the influence and driving without front registration after being pulled over near the intersection of Colorado Avenue and LaGrange Road. His next court date is Nov. 3.

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Oct. 8: Beverly A. Kies, 38, of the 300 block of Iowa Court in Frankfort, was charged with driving under the influence and improper lane use after being pulled over near the intersection of LaGrange Road and Lincoln Highway. Her next court date is Nov. 2.

Jeffrey E. Eppenstein, 40, of the 21900 block of Pembrook Drive in Frankfort, was charged with driving under the influence and speeding after a traffic stop in the 0-100 block of LaGrange Road. His next court date is Nov. 1.

Oct. 2: Police were called about a possible drunken driver in the 14900 block of Lakeview Drive around 7:15 p.m. The officer found a silver Nissan facing south along a curb in the northbound lane, according to the report. The officer smelled alcohol on the driver’s breath and she failed field sobriety tests, police said. Patricia Scott, 59, of the 13200 block of North Country Club Court in Palos Heights, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, unsafe backing up on a roadway, driving on the wrong side of the road and driving an uninsured vehicle.

Oct. 11: George F. Eichorn, 58, of the 3300 block of Arthur in Brookfield, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, police said. A person near the intersection of 159th Street and Laramie Avenue reported a reckless driver, according to the report. Eichorn failed field sobriety tests, according to the report.

Oct. 17: followed a car on Oak Forest Avenue this week, police said, after the driver was seen crossing into oncoming lanes of traffic. Anthony J. Clementi, 53, of Crestwood, was arrested around 9:50 p.m. Monday in the 16700 block of Oak Forest Avenue in . Cops pulled him over after watching him swerve over the lane line, causing "a near collision with another vehicle" heading the opposite direction, they said.

"(The officer) spoke with the driver … and requested his driver's license and insurance information," the report said. "Clementi looked in his wallet for two to three minutes for his identification and would put it back on his lap as if he forgot what he was looking for." When the cop was going back to his unmarked squad car, he saw a 12-ounce Budweiser beer can on the driver's side floorboard, police said. Clementi told him he'd had four beers throughout the course of the day, according to police.

After failing field sobriety tests, police said, Clementi was arrested and taken to the where he refused to take a Breathalyzer test. He was charged with illegal lane usage, driving under the influence of alcohol and illegal transportation of alcohol.

Oct. 15: It's not a DUI, but beer and a sandwich were involved. An officer pulled over a vehicle in the 6600 block of 167th Street in Tinley Park around 1:20 a.m., after he saw it swerving outside the lane. When stopped, Cassandra R. Paravich, 20, of the 1700 block of Odell Avenue in Tinley Park, told police she was driving erratically because she was "eating a sandwich," according to the report. She eventually admitted to having "two to three cups of beer," and was cited for violating the zero-tolerance ordinance. She was also charged with operating an uninsured motor vehicle and improper lane use.

Oct. 5: Mark A. Jennings, 29, of the 1200 block of Emerald Avenue, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, police said, after he was stopped for weaving in and out of lanes and speeding. Asked if he had been drinking, Jennings said "no," according to the report. Asked to perform field sobriety tests, Jennings replied, "No! I'm not doing no tests!" according to the report. After being taken into custody, Jenning submitted three "insufficient" breath test results before finally cooperating, police said. He had a blood alcohol content above the legal limit.

Oct. 4: George L. Ashford III, 33, of the 1500 block of Fifth Avenue, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol he was stopped for driving without headlights on, police said. After performing field sobriety tests, Ashford was taken into custody, police said. Police then discovered two unopened cans of Miller High Life in what was a six-pack container in Ashford's backseat. While in custody, Ashford grabbed papers away from an officer and said he "was going to pee on the floor," according to police. Ashford then blew "insufficient air" into the Breathalyzer three times before being counted as a "refusal," police said.

DID YOU KNOW? PENALTIES FOR DUI

Excerpted from the 2011 Illinois DUI Fact Book:

Penalties for DUI in Illinois vary depending on the circumstances of the arrest and conviction. Any DUI offense resulting in felony charges is classified as Aggravated DUI.

A first conviction is a Class A misdemeanor and involves a minimum revocation of driving privileges for one year (two years if driver is under age 21); suspension of vehicle registration.

  • If committed with a BAC of .16 or more — In addition to any penalties or fines, mandatory minimum fine of $500 and mandatory minimum 100 hours of community
    service.
  • If committed while transporting a child under age 16 — In addition to any penalties or fines, possible imprisonment of up to 6 months, mandatory minimum fine of $1,000 and 25 days of community service in a program benefiting children.
  • If committed while transporting a child under age 16 and involved in a crash that resulted in bodily harm to the child (Aggravated DUI); Class 4 felony — In addition to any other criminal or administrative sanctions, mandatory fine of $2,500 and 25 days of community service in a program benefiting children.

Police Blotter information is provided by local law enforcement agencies. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.


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