Authorities: Inmate tried to stab officer with stolen pen

A psychological evaluation has been ordered for a 32-year-old man accused of trying to disarm sheriff's deputies during a burglary in southern Kane County in mid-September.

Since his arrest, Marc A. Eberly, of the 100 block of Walnut Drive, Hinckley, has been charged with damaging a sprinkler at the Kane County jail and trying to stab a corrections officer with a stolen pen, both felonies, records show.

Judge James Hallock Saturday ordered the Kane County Diagnostic Center to conduct a full evaluation on Eberly, "with a component of fitness to stand trial," records show.

Eberly was arrested at 3 a.m. Sept. 13 after deputies responded to a 911 call from a 77-year-old woman in unincorporated Big Rock Township for a break-in and burglary in progress.

Two deputies who arrived saw a rear door broken in and were checking the home when Eberly confronted the officers and tried to disarm them, according to the sheriff's department.

During the fight, one deputy fired a single shot at Eberly, which missed, officials said. Eberly was arrested and the woman was not hurt.

On Sept. 23 Eberly was charged with felony criminal damage to property for damaging a sprinkler head in his cell; on Sept. 28 he was charged with trying to stab a corrections officer with a stolen pen and resisting two officers when they tried to take it away, records show.

Eberly is next due in court Wednesday and was being held on $160,000 bail.

If an evaluation report is returned an he is unfit to stand trial, Eberly will be sent to the state's Department of Human Services for up to a year or until fitness is restored.

If convicted of the most severe charges in the burglary arrest, Eberly faces a prison term of up to 15 years. The criminal damage to property and stabbing charges each carry a one- to three-year prison term, and probation is an option.