Probation for woman accused of trying to bribe Elgin police
A 27-year-old woman accused of trying to bribe Elgin police with $2,000 after her third DUI arrest last year pleaded guilty to a reduced charge and was sentenced to two years of probation, community service and nearly a year of wearing an alcohol monitoring device.
Maria Alarcon, of the 1100 block of Denver Drive, Carpentersville, was initially charged with trying to bribe police and aggravated DUI - both felonies - along with a host of other traffic offenses after being pulled over on July 18, 2015, according to Kane County court records.
In the agreement, Alarcon pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of driving under the influence of alcohol with a child passenger, a misdemeanor, and prosecutors dismissed the bribery charge and other offenses.
The plea was approved Wednesday by Judge David Kliment. It calls for Alarcon to undergo alcohol treatment, attend a victim impact panel and wear an alcohol monitoring device for 346 days, records show.
Alarcon also spent two days at the Kane County jail after her arrest before she posted bond.
According to an Elgin police report, officers were investigating a possible hit-and-run when they pulled Alarcon over on the 600 block of South Liberty Street. Alarcon had glassy eyes, smelled of alcohol and a preliminary breath test, which is not admissible in court, showed a blood alcohol concentration of .158, according to the report.
During the ride to the police station, Alarcon repeatedly offered two officers $2,000 to let her go, according to the squad car's audio and video surveillance from the ride, the report said.
If Alarcon violates her probation, she could be resentenced to up to 364 days in jail; the original felony DUI and bribery charges carried a punishment ranging from probation to seven years in prison.