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Elgin man faces prison after 9th DUI arrest

A 36-year-old Elgin man is due in Kane County court next week on felony charges for his ninth DUI, according to court records.

Bruno De La Cruz, of the 0-99 block of Lyle Lane, was arrested in late February in Elgin and initially charged with a felony for his third DUI arrest, according to court records.

But prosecutors dug into his background and determined this was his ninth. If convicted he faces six to 30 years in prison with no possibility of probation.

De La Cruz was being held at the Kane County jail on $763,000 bail, meaning he must post $76,300 to be free while his case is pending.

Elgin police found De La Cruz to be “unresponsive” after they responded to a single-vehicle crash at 2:42 a.m. Feb. 28 at Pamela and Kathleen drives, according to an Elgin police report in the court file. Officer smelled alcohol on De La Cruz and he failed field sobriety tests. He declined to take chemical tests after his arrest.

He also was cited for transportation of open alcohol, failure to reduce speed and driving without a license, records show.

According to court records, De La Cruz had previous DUI arrests on: Jan. 10 and Sept. 2, 2000; Sept. 14, 2002; Oct. 3, 2004; April 9, Aug. 3 and Aug. 28, 2006; and Feb. 19, 2007.

The court documents did not specify what towns or states all the other DUI arrests occurred, but at least two prior arrests were in Kane County.

Elgin police arrested him on Aug. 28, 2006 and he later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison. He also was given 364 days in jail — the maximum misdemeanor sentence — after a DUI arrest April 9, 2006, by the Illinois State Police, court records show.

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