Man accused of threatening McHenry Co. official in mental health court

A 56-year-old man facing a pair of felony charges alleging he threatened McHenry County Circuit Clerk Katherine Keefe was transferred Tuesday into the county's mental health court where he will have a chance to have the case dismissed.

The move means James H. Day, of Harvard, will undergo treatment and live under close supervision of mental health court staff for up to two years.

If he completes the program successfully, the two counts of threatening a public official filed against him last year likely will be dismissed. If not, he will return to felony court and faces up to two to five years in prison if convicted of the charges.

Keefe said she had been approached about the possible transfer by county prosecutors and did not oppose it.

"It sounds like he has some issues, unfortunately," she said.

Sheriff's police arrested Day in October, shortly after he threatened Keefe in an e-mail in which he also expressed anger over court fees he owed in connection with a prior criminal case. The charges alleged the threat "placed (Keefe) in reasonable apprehension of immediate or future bodily harm or damage to her property."

According to court records, Day owed court fees to the county on two recent cases: a conviction in May felony on a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge and a 2008 felony conviction for unlawful defrauding of a drug and alcohol screening test.