Naperville woman guilty of trying to bribe cop to avoid another DUI
A $350 bribe ended up costing Tareya Rhone a felony conviction.
The Naperville woman was sentenced to jail and probation this week after admitting she offered the cash to an Illinois State Police trooper during her second drunken-driving arrest in three months.
Rhone, 38, of the 1600 block of Kiowa Drive, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a felony bribery charge and aggravated driving under the influence. DuPage County Judge George Bakalis sentenced her to 120 days in jail and two years of probation, court records show.
Authorities said Rhone tried to avoid arrest July 21 by offering $350 to a state trooper who pulled her over on westbound I-88 near Oak Brook.
Rhone was stopped about 6:15 a.m. for driving 81 mph in the 55-mph zone, police said. According to court records, she later registered a blood alcohol content of 0.201, which is more than twice the legal threshold of 0.08.
The bribery arrest happened a little more than two months after Rhone was charged with misdemeanor DUI in Naperville. In that case, which is due back in court Tuesday, police said Rhone had been driving her 2013 Volkswagen at 57 mph in a 40-mph zone on Washington Street.
Rhone has been jailed since her July arrest and will receive credit for that time toward her term, authorities said. Had she been convicted of bribery at trial, she could have faced up to five years in prison.