Upgraded DUI charges filed against son of Lake Villa’s police chief
The son of Lake Villa’s police chief was slapped Thursday with upgraded felony charges in connection with a June 14 DUI-related crash that injured three passengers.
Robert Roth, 23, of the 20000 block of San Rem Avenue in Venetian Village, an unincorporated area near Lake Villa, now faces six counts of felony aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol causing great bodily harm, after a bond hearing in Lake County court.
Defense attorney Stephen Simonian said they are upgrades of charges filed against Roth immediately after a June 14 crash on the 200 block of Route 83 near Lake Villa.
Roth was released on bond Thursday after posting 10 percent of the $10,000 bail.
He is the son of Lake Villa Police Chief Ron Roth.
Robert Roth is accused of being intoxicated while driving a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer when he lost control of his vehicle and struck a tree at 12:51 a.m.
When police arrived at the accident scene, they found four people inside the vehicle — including Robert Roth — complaining of various injuries. All four were taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for treatment and later released.
Robert Roth, who does not live with his father, was arrested and charged with DUI, reckless driving, improper lane usage and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, officials said.
Those charges were upgraded Thursday because of the injuries to the three passengers in the vehicle, Simonian said.
Robert Roth is due back in court on Sept. 7, though that could be delayed depending on a grand jury indictment, Simonian said.
In June, Ron Roth said he had immediately delegated the handling of the case to other officers in his department to ensure there is no conflict of interest in the prosecution of his son. Ron Roth was reported out of the office until Monday and unavailable for comment regarding the upgraded charges against his son.
DUI: Charges upgraded because of passenger’s injuries