Elgin man gets 10 years after second guilty plea

An Elgin man has pleaded guilty to domestic battery and communicating with a witness.

Again.

Dan Evans, of the 700 block of N. Douglas Ave., entered the guilty plea before the start of his trial Monday in Rolling Meadows' Third Municipal District. It's the same one he entered last summer on the same charges, plus a charge of solicitation of home invasion, which the state reduced from solicitation of murder in exchange for the plea, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Shari Chandra.

Last year, Evans was sentenced to nine years in prison.

This time he got 10.

Evans, 37, was arrested in October 2007 on domestic battery and harassment charges stemming from incidents involving his former girlfriend. In March 2008, prosecutors say he approached a fellow inmate at Cook County Jail with a murder-for-hire scheme, offering to pay the man $4,000 to "make her disappear."

Evans' attorney, Cook County Assistant Public Defender Calvin Aguilar disputes that assertion, saying the inmate who made that claim failed to show up in court despite being subpoenaed by the state.

"This guy is every bit an unsavory individual," Aguilar said, suggesting that the man's failure to appear puts his truthfulness into question.

In August 2009, Evans pleaded guilty to battery, communicating with a witness and the reduced solicitation of a home invasion charge. Soon after, however, he petitioned the court to withdraw his guilty plea and vacate his sentence. In October, the court granted his request and Evans attorneys proceeded to trial.

As they prepared to select jurors Monday, Evans decided to plead guilty a second time.

"It was his choice," Aguilar said. "His attorneys were able and ready to try his case."

Evans received credit for the 816 days he's spent in custody since his arrest.