Man gets 7 years in prison for drunkenly fleeing from police

A man pleaded guilty Thursday to trying to get away from deputies investigating a domestic dispute by driving off while drunk.

Robert S. Lord, 54, of the 6N0-99 block of Riverside Drive near St. Charles, accepted a sentence of seven years in prison. He pleaded guilty to aggravated fleeing and eluding a peace officer, a Class 3 felony, and misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol.

Kane County deputies responded on Sept. 15, 2024, to a house in unincorporated Kane County, where a woman reported that Lord had forced his way in at 2:28 a.m.

Authorities said Lord was drunk and fled in a vehicle. He led deputies on a high-speed chase that reached a speed of 80 mph, officials said.

Deputies tried to stop him by using tire-deflating spike strips and striking his vehicle deliberately, using precision immobilization techniques. His car stopped after entering a yard and hitting a tree stump, according to court records.

Lord received an extended term based on his criminal history, according to a news release from the Kane County state’s attorney’s office. According to court records, his license has been suspended or revoked since 2010; he was on probation for an aggravated DUI conviction; on supervision for an obstruction of justice conviction; and was on pretrial release for criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct charges.

He will have to serve at least half the sentence before becoming eligible for parole, and he received credit for the 1¼ years he spent in the Kane County jail awaiting trial.