St. Charles police say hit-and-run driver left scene to make court date

St. Charles police recently found themselves making an unusual arrest at the Kane County courthouse when they say a hit-and-run driver fled the scene to make his court date for previous driving convictions.

A police report indicates court security officers were approached by a woman March 9 after she saw a man she believed just hit her car flee into the courthouse. Security took the woman to a courtroom where she identified David J. Pease Jr., 33, of the 1400 block of Millbrook Drive in Algonquin as the driver of the vehicle that struck her car. Pease was at the courthouse to begin a 30-day stint in jail for driving on a revoked license as the result of prior DUI convictions. Court security then called the St. Charles police.

When police questioned Pease, he told them it was his girlfriend, Heather L. Schlabach, 34, of Algonquin who was driving the car at the time of the accident, the report said. Officers told Pease to call Schlabach so she could return to the courthouse with the vehicle. The report states Schlabach refused.

The victim told police after the collision she looked in her rearview mirror and saw Pease switching places with a female passenger. Pease's car then moved in reverse, striking another vehicle. That car then sped away from the scene. The woman approached Pease's vehicle, and all parties agreed to pull into a nearby Meijer parking lot to exchange information. As the vehicles approached the lot, Pease's vehicle sped away. The woman followed it to the courthouse.

At the courthouse, Pease continually denied being the driver, but without Schlabach admitting to being the driver, police said they'd have to arrest him. The report states Pease began to weep and told officers he was ready to tell them the full story. As police prepared to take Pease to the station, he asked to use the restroom and asked police to use his cell phone to call Schlabach one more time.

According to the report, Schlabach immediately said in answering the phone: “Dave, you better tell them the truth that you were driving. I'm not taking the blame when it was you.” She did not know it was a police officer placing the call.

The officer advised Schlabach to return to the courthouse with the vehicle. She refused and hung up, the report said.

While en route to the police station, Pease maintained it was Schlabach driving the car at the time of the accident. He also told police his brother, Craig G. Pease, 32, of the 500 block of Devonshire Drive in Crystal Lake, owned the car. Police contacted the brother to have him fax the car's insurance information. That information revealed the insurance on the car didn't become valid until six hours after the accident.

The report also states Craig G. Pease told police he had let his brother borrow the car, and he was aware his brother did not have a license. He was then charged with allowing an uninsured driver to operate a motor vehicle.

Police eventually made contact with Schlabach and told her if she didn't bring the car to the St. Charles police station she would be charged with obstruction of justice. The report said Schlabach wouldn't comply, and officers located Schlabach at her residence and arrested her. They also found the vehicle, which had evidence of a recent accident, including red paint chips on the bumper.

The report states Pease changed his story and asked to have more time added to his jail sentence in exchange for letting Schlabach go because she hadn't done anything wrong.

Schlabach told police Pease pulled her over to the driver's seat after the accident and told her they had to trade places otherwise he would be sent to jail, according to the report. Schlabach also told police she wanted to pull over into the Meijer parking lot, but Pease began screaming at her so she drove to the courthouse, the report said.

David J. Pease was charged with one felony count of driving with a revoked license because of his numerous driving convictions.