Elgin man charged with 4th DUI, trying to spit on officer

A 34-year-old Elgin man has been charged with his fourth DUI after crashing into a row of parked cars near his home and later trying to spit on an officer, police said.

Homero Menacha-Gutierrez, of the 0-100 block of Lynch Street, faces charges of aggravated DUI/fourth offense, aggravated DUI/driving while license suspended or revoked, driving while license suspended/revoked fourth to ninth offense, and aggravated assault of a peace officer, all felonies, according to Elgin police and Kane County court records.

An Elgin police report says officers were sent at 7:53 p.m. Tuesday to Lynch Street after a report that a white van struck a stop sign on Mountain Street and four parked cards near Lynch Street and West Highland Avenue.

An officer spotted a white minivan in a driveway that had new damage to its passenger side, the report said. The officer saw the van's driver's-side door was open and Menacha-Gutierrez was in the driver's seat, leaning back with one foot on the ground and a can of beer in his hand, according to the report.

Menacha-Gutierrez denied driving and refused field sobriety tests. At the station, he tried to spit on the arresting officer, according to the report.

Additional information regarding his previous DUI arrests was not immediately available.

If convicted of the most severe charge, Menacha-Gutierrez faces a sentence ranging from probation to up to seven years in prison. His bail amount and next court dates were not immediately available.