DUI No. 4: Joliet Man Must Stay In Jail This Time, Judge Says

JOLIET, IL — A 40-year-old Joliet man from Hawthorne Drive continues to put lives in danger by his drinking and driving, and that's why Juan A. Garcia must remain locked up behind bars for an indefinite period at the Will County Jail, according to prosecutors.

Last week, a Will County grand jury returned a bill of indictment against Garcia on two charges of aggravated driving under the influence plus one count of aggravated driving while license revoked. Garcia's three prior DUIs happened in 2008 in Racine County, Wisconsin, 2010 in Will County and in 2013 in Will County, court files show.

Assistant to the petition to deny pretrial release submitted by Assistant State's Attorney Jonathon Sakellaropoulos:

Joliet police responded to the area of Gardner Street and Elm Street for a crash on Dec. 1.

Officers saw a 2014 Grand Jeep Cherokee in the road with heavy front-end damage and the airbag deployed. A green and yellow Waste Management garbage truck was on the right side of Gardner Street, facing southbound. When Joliet police saw Garcia at the scene of the collision, "Garcia repeatedly said that someone 'took off' and that it was his son, Jesus Garcia ... Garcia refused to explain how the crash happened but kept insisting that his son was driving."

Garcia denied being inside the Jeep, and he denied that he was the driver.

Officers identified Garcia through the state of Illinois ID card in his wallet, and Garcia's driver's license came back as being suspended.

A witness on the scene told Joliet police he saw Garcia exit the driver's side of the Jeep after the wreck. When given the chance, Garcia refused to perform the field sobriety tests, and he refused to give a breath sample to Joliet police investigating the crash.

At one point, Garcia told Joliet police he was only seen walking away from the black Jeep because he was looking at the car.

"He said he was not drinking today, and he has trouble walking because he was hurt during an unrelated incident a year ago," the petition informed the judge.

On Friday morning, Will County Judge Carmen Goodman determined that Garcia met the dangerousness standard in order to remain in the custody of the Will County Jail. He was booked into the jail at 11:26 a.m. and must remain there indefinitely as he awaits his trial.

The Joliet man's next hearing is set for Feb. 16 in Courtroom 503. Garcia has retained downtown Joliet defense attorney Neil Patel as his private counsel, court records show.