Judge orders suspect in fatal Downers Grove DUI crash to court on Monday
A Naperville man charged with nine counts of felony aggravated DUI and two counts of reckless homicide after he struck and killed a Downers Grove North High School student earlier this year has been ordered to appear in court Monday to face allegations he violated conditions of his bail.
DuPage County Judge Liam Brennan had issued a no-bond warrant for Joseph Kucharski on Tuesday, even though Kucharski's attorney, Richard Kayne, said his client was in inpatient addiction treatment. The judge quashed that warrant on Friday while setting the court date.
Prosecutors say Kucharski was asleep at the wheel and coming down from a four-day cocaine bender at 10:55 a.m. Feb. 19 when he drove through the intersection of Main and Grant streets, striking and fatally injuring junior Beth Dunlap, who had late arrival privileges and was on her way to school with a teacher.
Kucharski faces three to 14 years in prison if convicted of the charges.
Prosecutors allege Kucharski violated the no-contact order of his bond on May 16, the day after he posted $750,000 bail and was released from jail, when a friend from church texted Beth Dunlap's mother.
According to court documents, Beth's father, Randy Dunlap, contacted prosecutors on May 16 after his wife received a series of text messages from an unknown number, purporting to be a friend of Kucharski.
During a May 21 interview with Downers Grove police, according to the same documents, Deborah Weber told police Kucharski called her from his cousin's cellphone "crying and telling her how grief-stricken he is" and that he "would like to apologize to (Dunlap's) family but is court-ordered not to contact them."
Weber said she offered to contact the family for Kucharski, to which Kucharski responded "That would be awesome" and thanked her for "being in his corner."
On Wednesday, police drove to the cousin's Bartlett house, where Kucharski was believed to be staying after posting bail. No one answered, but the cousin was contacted on his cellphone.
According to court documents, he told police Kucharski was in an inpatient treatment facility but would not disclose the name or location.
Kayne said Kucharski checked himself into the facility May 20, after his last court appearance where prosecutors said they were investigating the possible bond violation.
While on bail, Kucharski is prohibited from purchasing, renting or driving any vehicle, and is ordered to wear a drug-detecting patch if he is not in inpatient treatment and an alcohol-monitoring device on his ankle. He also is prohibited from contacting the Dunlap family.
In the latest version of the state's petition to revoke Kucharski's bail, filed Wednesday, prosecutors say an intake probation officer met with Kucharski around 3:30 p.m. on May 15, specifically to explain to him that "no contact with the Dunlap family meant no firsthand contact, no secondhand contact or contact by any third party on behalf of the defendant."
Prosecutors say investigators found two Xanax bars, a Benadryl and a prescription medication used to help opiate abusers wean themselves in a contact lens case in Kucharski's car after the crash. A search of the hotel room where he was staying found two crack pipes, multiple rocks of crack cocaine and a half-empty bottle of vodka, reports said.
Authorities said Kucharski was driving south on Main Street after running a red light when the crash occurred.
Kucharski failed a field sobriety test and his blood alcohol content was determined to be .031, authorities said.
Kucharski has a criminal history dating to 1985 that includes two DUI arrests, a conviction for possessing cannabis in Georgia and a battery conviction.
His next court date is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday.