Elgin Mental Health prisoner can stand trial on escape charges
Jesse Vega, the Elgin Mental Health Center prisoner charged with escaping from custody of state guards in June, was deemed fit Friday to stand trial on that charge.
Kane County Circuit Court Judge John Barsanti made the ruling after reviewing a report from psychologist Alexandra Tsang, director of the Kane County Diagnostic Center.
As long as Vega continues to take prescribed psychotropic medications, he will be fit for trial, Barsanti said, citing Tsang's report.
Vega was arraigned Friday, and pleaded not guilty. When asked, he told the judge he is taking Wellbutrin and Seroquel. Wellbutrin is an antidepressant, and Seroquel is an antipsychotic.
The escape charge is a Class 2 felony, but Kane County Assistant State's Attorney Joe Cullen said Vega may be eligible for longer Class X sentencing, as he may have at least two prior felony convictions.
Vega, 33, was being held at the Elgin Mental Health Center while awaiting trial in Lake County. There, he faces charges of aggravated domestic battery and aggravated battery, accused of beating his girlfriend last year in a parking lot at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee. The beating left her with a broken skull and swelling of the brain, according to Lake County prosecutors. Vega lives on the 5800 block of West Higgins Road in Chicago.
On July 16, officials from the Illinois Department of Human Services were driving Vega to a mental-fitness hearing in Lake County. Despite being handcuffed, Vega managed to get out of the car when it stopped, near Summit Street and Dundee Avenue on Elgin's northeast side. He was found nearby eight hours later, after a resident and a taxi driver spotted him.
Vega has been held on $1 million bail at the Kane County jail since his escape.
State Rep. Anna Moeller of Elgin has asked the state auditor general to investigate procedures for prisoner transportation at the Elgin Mental Health Center.