Former Elgin deputy in hospital after fight
A former Elgin deputy police chief was hospitalized after trying to break up a fight that four men are accused of starting when they couldn't get into a New Year's Eve party at an Elgin hotel.
John S. Darr, 59, who retired from the department and now serves as head of security at the Holiday Inn at 495 Airport Road, suffered several broken ribs, a punctured lung and numerous facial injuries.
His partner, James Elwood, 31, received several cuts to his head and face after he was struck several times over the head with a beer bottle until it broke.
Darr was released Wednesday night from Provena St. Joseph Hospital, a spokeswoman said. Elwood was released after receiving numerous stitches.
The pair responded to a fight at about 2:45 a.m. Tuesday.
Elgin Police Chief Lisa Womack said 10 people were arrested as a result of the incident. She said the investigation was time-consuming, but would not elaborate.
The names of six people were not available Wednesday night, but four men appeared in bond court Wednesday morning.
According to a police department synopsis of the morning's events detailed at a Wednesday morning bond hearing, Darr and Elwood were called to a room on the eighth floor of the hotel after an argument between a group of men and the occupants of the room and the men tried to push their way inside.
Several occupants of Room 801 -- all from Chicago and having attended a private, family party in a ballroom at the hotel -- identified three men as having tried to get into the room and having attacked Darr and Elwood.
The men were arrested by Elgin police in the hallway on the eighth floor near the elevators.
Shannon D. Hill, 32, of 5950 S. California, Chicago; Lorenzo A. Patterson, 24, of 1509 Meyer St., Apt. 5, Elgin; and Devonthe R. Mahone, 19, of 20 Peachtree Court, Apt. A, Elgin, were charged Wednesday morning with four counts each of aggravated battery, one count of armed violence and one count of mob action.
A fifth occupant of the room identified Kevin D. Schwartz, 29, of 381 S. Collins St., Apt. A, South Elgin, as another attacker, authorities said in court.
Schwartz was arrested at a traffic stop at Route 31 and Jerusha Street in Elgin and charged with mob action.
Judge Allen Cargerman set bond at $25,000 for Hill, $15,000 for Patterson, and $500 for Mahone and Schwartz.
Mahone, a student at Elgin High School, posted bond Wednesday and was released; the others were sent to the Kane County jail.
Hill, Patterson, Schwartz and Mahone are scheduled to appear in the courtroom of Kane County Judge Allen Anderson on Jan. 16 at the Kane County Judicial Center.
A woman who was at the party and the hotel room where the melee ensued said several men milling about in the hotel lobby wanted to get into the private party in the hotel ballroom.
After the party ended, the woman and 10 others in her group went up to the eighth floor, where they had rented a block of rooms.
But their rooms happened to be near the men who were hanging out in the lobby.
A message left Wednesday for the hotel manager was not returned.
Mayor Ed Schock said Darr was a good police officer and involved community member and wished him a speedy recovery.
"He was always the kind of guy who was always engaged above and beyond," Schock said.