Man charged with St. Charles dealership-related thefts
A Sugar Grove man has been accused of theft in three separate cases brought by St. Charles and Elgin police, according to court records.
Randy M. Kath of the 200 block of Yolane Street, had bond hearings Wednesday and Thursday in Kane County court.
In St. Charles, he is accused of stealing $2,910 from a Kentucky woman April 19 while working as a salesman at the Al Piemonte dealership in St. Charles. She had found a car via an Internet search, called the dealership and spoke with Kath, according to St. Charles police. She sent three Moneygrams for the purchase, and Kath told her he would deliver the car to her in Paducah. When she didn’t receive the car, she contacted dealership management, who told her he was not acting on their behalf.
Court records outlining specifics on the Elgin case were not available late Thursday, and Elgin police have not released details. The statute cited in the online court docket refers to theft of over $100,000 “in a school or place of worship or the theft was of governmental property.”
The Elgin case is a Class X felony, punishable by six to 30 years in prison.
Judge T. Jordan Gallagher set bail at $100,000 for the first St. Charles case and the Elgin case.
On Thursday, Judge James Hallock set bail at $250,000 for a second St. Charles case. According to court documents, while working as a salesman at Don McCue Chevrolet in St. Charles March 16, Kath told a customer who had bought a Silverado truck that he could get the customer a discount on an aftermarket purchase and installation of some steps and a bed cover at an Aurora business if the customer routed the $865 fee through him. The customer had the work done, and when asking about the discount was told by the Aurora business it didn’t know Kath.
The victim then confronted Kath, who gave him a personal check for $923.35 to give to the Aurora shop. The check was returned for insufficient funds, so the victim paid the bill. The victim returned to the Chevrolet dealership to get his original payment back, and was told Kath no longer worked there.
St. Charles and Elgin police, realizing they had similar cases, worked together to arrest Kath, with Elgin police arresting him Tuesday.
Hallock cited Kath’s criminal history, including instances of bond forfeiture, in setting bail.
“My concern is that you may not show up in court,” he said.
Kath has convictions in Kane, Kendall and DeKalb counties for burglary, forgery, fraud, larceny, drug possession, resisting a peace officer, endangering the health and welfare of a child, and escape of a felon from a penal institution.
He was convicted in 2006 of theft by deception. In that case, he was accused of keeping a customer’s down payment for a vehicle while working as a salesman at an Aurora dealership.