Crime & Safety
Third Street U-Turn Attempt Ends With Charges of DUI, Obstructing Justice
The following information was supplied by the Geneva Police Department. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.
A Saturday evening U-turn attempt on South Third Street in Geneva resulted in multiple driving-under-the-influence charges against the driver and obstructing justice charges against the passenger who allegedly tried to prevent his arrest.
Geneva police arrested Ronaldo Lopez, 36, of St. Charles on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, DUI with a blood-alcohol content of .08 or more and improper backing and Erin Charmello, 29, of Geneva on charges of obstructing or resisting a police officer around 5:14 p.m. July 20 in the 300 block of Campbell Street, Geneva police reports said.
According to reports, the rear of Lopez' Volkswagen CC collided with the rear driver’s side of a parked Chevrolet Yukon around 5:14 p.m. July 20 in the 100 block of South Third Street about 30 feet north of Campbell Street in Geneva.
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The Yukon was parked unoccupied facing north in front of 123 South Third Street and Lopez’ Volkswagen was legally parked behind it. Lopez pulled out of his parking place and attempted a U-turn, then ended up doing a three-point turn because of cars parked on both sides of the street, reports said, when he backed the Volkswagen into the Yukon.
Police measured Lopez' blood-alcohol content at .188, reports said.
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According to a complaint in the 16th Circuit Court, Charmelo “furnished false information to (the officer) in an attempt to prevent arrest and apprehension of (Lopez).”
Charmelo has a court date of Sept. 10 and Lopez on Aug. 21, both at the Kane County Branch Court, 530 S. Randall Road, St. Charles.
A roundup of driving-under-the-influence arrests in Geneva and Batavia from police reports collected July 30 includes a Saturday evening crash on Geneva's Third Street and a Batavia man facing charges of aggravated DUI after a previous offense.
Patch reports on law enforcement activity in Geneva and Batavia, using information provided by official agencies. Persons charged with a crime, or issued a citation for violation of a local ordinance, are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If you or a family member are charged with a crime or cited for a violation, and the charge or citation is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify editor Rick Nagel at rickn@patch.com and we will do follow-up reporting on the case.
