Police: Elgin man stole unlocked car, fought with officers

A 39-year-old Elgin man stole an unlocked 2005 Scion with its engine running from outside an Elgin Jewel and was later arrested at a Walmart after an employee saw him peeking into vehicles, police said.

Kenneth N. Ash Jr., of the 1700 block of Berkley Street, who was on probation for aggravated battery to police from a 2018 offense, also is charged with punching an officer twice and injuring another officer while being handcuffed, according to Elgin police and Kane County court records.

Ash faces charges of possession of a stolen vehicle valued over $10,000, three counts of aggravated battery to a peace officer, obstructing justice and resisting arrest.

Elgin police spokeswoman Kristie Hilton said a shopper at Jewel, 1660 Larkin Ave., reported a stolen vehicle at 12:29 a.m. Nov. 8; the silver 2005 Scion TC was unlocked with the engine running outside the store and no longer there when the victim returned.

Later that morning, at 4:28 a.m., an employee at the Walmart, 1100 S. Randall Road, noticed a man walking around the parking lot, looking into vehicles, Hilton said.

Ash told the employee he was looking for someone to give his vehicle a jump, then got inside the Scion and later went into the Walmart, Hilton said.

The employee called police, gave authorities the plate number of the Scion, and police arrived at the store to talk to Ash, who initially gave them a fake name, Hilton said. Ash pulled away when police were attempting to handcuff him, injuring one officer. At the station, Ash is accused of punching another office twice in the face, Hilton said.

Both officers sustained minor injuries, Hilton said.

According to court records, Ash was on probation through April 30, 2021, after pleading guilty to charges from a May 2018 arrest. He was charged with aggravated battery to a peace officer, a felony, and three counts of resisting arrest, which are misdemeanors.

In the October 2018 guilty plea, Ash pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of attempted aggravated battery to a peace officer, a misdemeanor, and served 20 days in jail.

Ash also has served prison time for cocaine possession and selling drugs near a park in the early 2000s, court records show.

He is being held at the Kane County jail on $40,000 bail, meaning he must post $4,000 to be released while the case is pending. Ash is next due in court on Nov. 21 and faces a sentence ranging from probation to up to seven years in prison if convicted of the vehicle theft and battery charges.