Woman charged with 5th DUI after Pingree Grove crash

A 38-year-old Plano woman was indicted this week on charges that she committed her fifth DUI after a crash in Pingree Grove in late October 2018.

The felony charges against Jennifer Agena, of the 3100 block of Hoffman Street, are part of the Kane County state's attorney's office's ongoing policy of evaluating a defendant's criminal history after an initial arrest.

Agena, Kane County court records show, was first charged with misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol. A Kane County grand jury handed up felony indictments this week for Agena and several other defendants, who were found to have had previous DUI arrests, records show.

State's Attorney Joe McMahon has said his assistant state's attorneys are constantly reviewing a defendant's criminal history to see if upgraded charges are warranted.

"The assistants continue to evaluate both the faces of those cases as well as a defendant's criminal history," McMahon said in December and not in direct comment on Agena's case. "I don't think we're perfect but we're as thorough as we can about understanding what somebody's criminal history is, and whether they are eligible for enhanced felony charges. When somebody demonstrates they are going to engage in continued drinking and driving, we're going to be aggressive in our response to how we charge those individuals and how we prosecute those cases."

A message left with Agena's defense attorney, Alex Bederka, was not returned.

Agena was arrested and charged with misdemeanor DUI and ticketed for driving too fast for conditions and failure to reduce speed after she crashed her black 2007 Jeep Liberty about 5:45 p.m. Oct. 27 at routes 47 and 72 in Pingree Grove, according to court records.

An officer wrote in a report that Agena had slurred speech, confused thoughts, smelled of alcohol, had unsteady balance and staggered. Open alcohol was found in her vehicle and she refused field sobriety tests, records show.

A message left with Pingree Grove police seeking additional information was not returned,

Information about her previous four DUI arrests was not immediately available.

If convicted of her fifth DUI, she faces a minimum penalty of four years in prison and a maximum of 15 years. She is next due in court March 1.