Mount Prospect man charged with 7th DUI
A Cook County judge set bail at $300,000 Monday for a 47-year-old Mount Prospect man charged with his seventh DUI.
Piotr Kowalczyk, who prosecutors say was driving with a revoked license, must post $30,000 to be released from custody.
About midnight Monday, an Arlington Heights police officer noticed a vehicle driven by Kowalczyk approaching his car from behind at a high speed, nearly striking him, Assistant State's Attorney David Shin said.
The officer followed the driver and watched as the he accelerated to 60 mph, Shin said. At the light at Algonquin and Arlington Heights roads, the officer observed the vehicle straddling the middle lanes.
During the traffic stop, the officer noticed the driver had bloodshot glassy eyes and slurred speech and smelled of alcohol, Shin said.
Kowalczyk failed field sobriety tests, Shin said. His breath test registered a .185 blood alcohol content, more than twice the legal threshold of .08.
His background includes a 2010 DUI conviction for which he was sentenced to four years in prison, Shin said. In 2006, he was sentenced to two years in prison for a DUI conviction. That same year, he was sentenced to one year in prison for a 1999 DUI, said Shin. The sentences were served concurrently.
Kowalczyk received probation for a 1996 aggravated DUI. He was convicted of misdemeanor DUI in 1992 and received supervision for a 1989 DUI, Shin said.
If convicted, Kowalczyk faces fsix to 30 years in prison. Probation is not an option.
He next appears in court on Oct. 16.