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Kane to hold ‘No Refusal’ event for Super Bowl

The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office has added a new page to its DUI enforcement playbook.

Sunday night, the state’s attorney’s office will hold its eighth “No Refusal” operation — and first during the Super Bowl — in multiple jurisdictions in Kane County.

“We want people to have fun, to watch the Super Bowl, to rate the commercials, and to enjoy the camaraderie of family and friends,” said Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon. “But when the game is over, safety and responsibility are in order. Impaired driving is not an option.”

The idea was hatched because a lot of drunk drivers, especially repeat offenders, refuse to take breath tests and that limits evidence that law enforcement can gather.

Prosecutors from McMahon’s office will be on duty to go before an on-call judge to get a search warrant for a blood sample. A trained phlebotomist is on hand to conduct the procedure.

“This office has a responsibility to prosecute DUI offenders, and to educate the public not to drive when they drink. With that in mind, I am only announcing when we will have the No-Refusal operation. I will not say which municipalities will participate,” McMahon said.

Some drivers refuse even if a warrant is issued. That leaves authorities with a choice of adding more charges, such as felony obstruction of justice, or forcibly taking the blood sample.

The last “No Refusal” was held the weekend of Oct. 29 -30 in Elgin, South Elgin, East Dundee, West Dundee and Carpentersville and resulted in seven DUI arrests.

Elgin conviction overturned:An recent appellate court decision will wipe a felony conviction for obstruction of justice from the record of a 49-year-old Elgin man.David E. Jenkins also will not have to stand trial again for obstruction of justice as a result of the three-member panel#146;s decision.Jenkins was convicted of the March 21, 2009, offense and sentenced to 18 months probation and 100 hours of community service.An appellate panel ruled that the state#146;s evidence was #147;wholly insufficient#148; to convict Jenkins and that prosecutors failed to prove that Jenkins knowingly gave false information to authorities with the intent to obstruct the prosecution of his son, David T. Jenkins.#147;Because the state#146;s evidence is insufficient to sustain defendant#146;s conviction, we determine the defendant would be subject to double jeopardy. A retrial of the defendant is, therefore, barred,#148; the judges wrote.Jenkins initially was charged after Elgin police asked him whether he had a son named David Jenkins who owned a white Ford Mustang that was involved in a traffic accident. The elder Jenkins at first said no, then told police a few minutes later he did have a son of the same name who lives with his mother and she owned the vehicle.hhitzeman@dailyherald.com

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