Hate crime charge dropped stemming from St. Charles bar fight
One of three people arrested and charged with a felony hate crime during which two gay men were attacked in January outside a St. Charles bar, has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge, according to court records.
Stephan C. Bolt, 31, of the 4N0-99 block of East Mary Lane, St. Charles, pleaded guilty this week to misdemeanor battery, was sentenced to a year of probation and fined $2,000, according to court records.
Kane County Judge Susan Clancy Boles accepted the plea, in which prosecutors dropped the more serious charges of felony mob action, aggravated battery in a public place, and a hate crime, records show.
The most severe charge of aggravated battery carried a top prison term of seven years, but probation was an option.
The charges stemmed from a Jan. 6 altercation outside a bar in the 2000 block of Lincoln Highway (Route 38). Police charged Bolt and two others with fighting with two gay men after the bar closed and yelling slurs while they beat the men.
Bolt’s defense attorney, Matt Downs, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Two other 31-year-olds from St. Charles also are charged: Susan V. Patton, of the 6N200 block of Woodland Road; and Christopher M. Miner, of the 100 block of North 15th Street.
Patton faces six counts of misdemeanor battery. She is accused of throwing a drink in a woman’s face outside the bar, triggering the fight. The victims had bumps and bruises but were not seriously injured, police said.
Patton is free on bond while the case is pending. She is due in court April 5 and her case is tentatively set for a jury trial May 6.
Her defense attorney, Vince Solano, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Miner has been held at the Kane County jail on $30,000 bail since his arrest in late January.
His next court date is March 28.