Smash-and-Grab Burglary Suspect Faces New Charge

St. Charles police link Aurora man to an earlier auto spa break-in.

The 49-year-old Auroran charged in a smash-and-grab burglary at a St. Charles auto parts store and whose motus operandi matches a Geneva gas station burglary has been charged with an additional count of burglary after police linked him to an earlier burglary of a St. Charles auto spa. Mark E. Swienton, 49, was charged with burglary, a Class 2 felony, after investigators linked him to a break-in at Valley Springs Auto, 3255 W. Main St., St. Charles police said. A cash drawer and money were taken in that burglary. Swienton was arrested March 22, 2013 in St. Charles by Aurora police. Aurora investigators had been using a high-tech tracking device as part of a surveillance operation after they identified him as a suspect in numerous smash-and-…

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St. Patrick's Day No-Refusal Weekend Nets 3 Drunken Driving Arrests

The following information was supplied by the Kane County State's Attorney's Office. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.

Three drunken driving arrests—one in Geneva and two in St. Charles—were one result of Kane County’s St. Patrick’s weekend No-Refusal operation, officials announced Tuesday, April 2. The no-refusal weekend is a collaboration between the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office and five law-enforcement agencies: Batavia, Elburn, Geneva, South Elgin and St. Charles. Authorities obtained three blood-alcohol concentration samples — all breath samples. Of the three samples obtained, two were more than twice Illinois’ threshold of .08, and one was in excess of three times the .08 threshold. The communities and arrests are as follows: BATAVIA GENEVA ELBURN SOUTH ELGIN ST. CHARLES   “Our goal with these No-Refusal initiatives is for drivers to be …

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Dec. 20 Child-Porn Sentencing for Elburn Man Caught After 'Geek Squad' Tip in Geneva

Scott Burgholzer also was the junior leader of God’s Puppet Troupe, a group associated with the Congregational United Church of Christ in St. Charles.

State's Attorney's Election Complaint Line Open for Nov. 6 General Election

There's also the number for the Kane County Clerk's Office Election Help Line in this article, so make sure to take a look.

Kane County voters who observe or experience voting problems or irregularities during the Nov. 6 general election should call the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office to report the problems. The Election Complaint Line will be available from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 6, 2012. Anyone who experiences or witnesses any possible illegal election activity, such as electioneering, illegally placed campaign signs or denial of voting rights at any of Kane County’s 228 voting precincts should call the hotline at (630) 208-5328. The hotline will be staffed by representatives of the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office. Assistant State’s Attorneys will take the complaints about potential violations of Illinois election laws and are prepared to travel to…

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‘No-Refusal’ Anti-DUI Operations Coming Up in Kane County

Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office, local police to launch effort on the weekend before Halloween and the night before Thanksgiving.

If you’ve been arrested for driving under the influence, you shouldn’t have been driving, period. But if you think it’s a smart move to refuse to take a breath test when you are arrested for DUI, don’t count on it. The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office is planning with local police to conduct three “no-refusal” operations over the next 43 days—on the weekend before Halloween and on the night before Thanksgiving—to discourage drunken driving The first of the two operations will be Oct. 26-27 and Oct. 27-28, the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office announced in a release, and the second will be Nov. 21-22. They will begin in the evening and end after midnight. Many police agencies already run enhanced DUI patrols on the weekend before …

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Man Sentenced For Molesting Tri-Cities Girl He Knew

Thad W. Sugay was 21 when he had sexual contact with a girl who was younger than 13, the Kane County State's Attorney's Office said.

A Naperville man will go to prison for having sexual contact with a young girl from the Tri-Cities that he knew. Thad W. Sugay, 23, most recently of the 1200 block of Chickory Lane in Naperville, agreed to the following sentence Sept. 28 with the Kane County State’s Attorney: A sentence of 15 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections in exchange for a guilty plea to one count of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, a Class X felony. Associate Judge James C. Hallock accepted the plea. Between October 2008 and April 2010, Sugay had sexual contact with a young girl he knew when he lived with the girl’s family in St. Charles. The girl was younger than 13 years old at the time of the contact. According to Illinois law, Sugay must…

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UPDATE: Former Genevan Mike Jett Denies Sex Assault Accusations

Here is the latest information on this case and others in the area.

A Batavia man and Geneva High School graduate accused of sexually assaulting a woman and then driving her to the hospital has denied the charges against him, court records show. Michael Jett was arrested in June by Batavia Police on multiple counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, unlawful restraint and battery in connection to incidents in late May and early June. Jett has been held in Kane County Jail on $3 million bail since police took him into custody after hospital workers called police when the woman was brought in for treatment. Jett was arraigned during a Sept. 5 hearing and is scheduled to return to court Oct. 10, records state.

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St. Charles Man Gets 14 Years for 2010 Sex Abuse

Michael L. Listy also must register as a sex offender after he entered his plea on Wednesday.

A St. Charles man has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 14 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for sexually abusing a woman he knew in his home in 2010. Michael L. Listy, 32, of the 1000 block of South 2nd Street, St. Charles, on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012, agreed with the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office to the sentence after pleading guilty to aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony, according to a release. Listy also must register as a sex offender. Associate Judge Allen M. Anderson accepted the plea. On Nov. 17, 2010, in his home in the 100 block of South Second Street, Listy engaged in unwanted sexual contact against the victim and also struck the victim on the face and head, according to the release. …

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West Chicago Man Found Guilty in DUI Crash That Injured Geneva Pedestrian

Geneva woman suffers severe injuries in the crash that took place Jan. 31, 2010, in St. Charles.

A West Chicago man has been convicted of his role in a 2010 DUI crash that severely injured a Geneva woman. Donald E. Rericka Jr., 49 (d.o.b. 9-26-1962), of the 29W block of Helen Avenue, West Chicago, was convicted late Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012, by a Kane County jury of one count of aggravated DUI, a Class 4 felony. At about 2 a.m. Jan 31, 2010, Rericka, driving a Silver Chevy 1500 pickup truck south on Route 31 in St. Charles, made a left turn to go eastbound on Route 64. Rericka failed to properly negotiate the turn, lost control of his vehicle, drove up over the sidewalk and struck a tree and a pedestrian. The pedestrian, a Geneva woman who now is 50, suffered several severe injuries, including bleeding on her brain, a torn anterior …

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South Elgin Sex Predator Gets 40-Year Prison Term

William S. Muth is sentenced for sexually preying on and sexually assaulting young girl. He was sentenced to prison last year for possessing child porn.

A South Elgin man, who last year was sent to prison for possessing multiple images of child pornography was sentenced Thursday to an additional prison sentence for sexually preying on and assaulting a young girl he knew. Circuit Judge David R. Akemann sentenced William S. Muth, 46, of the 1400 block of Blackhawk Circle, South Elgin, to 40 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, according to a release issued by the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office. According to the release, Muth was convicted June 20, 2012, by a Kane County jury, of six counts of predatory criminal sexual assault, each a Class X felony, and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, each a Class 2 felony. Between Jan. 1, 2007, and Feb. 7, 2008, Muth had…

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