Geneva man with 4 previous convictions for drunken driving now charged with felony DUI

GENEVA – A Geneva man with four previous convictions for DUI was charged with felony aggravated drunken driving – his fifth DUI charge – according to Geneva police reports and court documents.

Brian M. Naughton, 61, of the 800 block of Garden Avenue, Geneva, was charged Dec. 31 with three felony aggravated DUI charges, one for drunken driving while a DUI charge is pending; one for driving with a blood alcohol content greater than 0.16%, police and court records show; and being charged with DUI while driving on a license that was revoked due to a DUI based offense, according to the charging documents.

Naughton’s blood alcohol content was measured at 0.271%, more than three times the legal limit of 0.08%, according to the charging documents.

The first two are the most serious, Class 1 felonies, punishable by four to 15 years in prison, fines up to $25,000, or up to 48 months of probation, if convicted.

The third charge is a Class 4 felony, punishable by one to three years in prison and fines up to $25,000, if convicted.

According to police reports, an officer was traveling south in the 1400 block of Batavia Avenue shortly before 4 p.m. on Dec. 27, when he saw a red 2005 Toyota Camry that had hit a tree.

The driver, Naughton, was standing outside his vehicle with a laceration on his hand from the airbag deployment following the collision, the report stated.

“Naughton had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his mouth area, had bloodshot glassy eyes, extremely slurred speech and was unable to maintain his balance without holding onto the vehicle,” the report stated. “Naughton fell backwards on one occasion and was caught by a bush which was behind him.”

Naughton admitted to drinking several alcoholic beverages before driving, the report stated.

Because of the injury to Naughton’s hand, the officer was not able to do the standard field sobriety tests with him, the report stated.

Naughton was taken to Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva for treatment, the report stated.

Naughton was also cited for driving with a revoked license, driving without insurance, improper lane use and driving with an expired license.

Naughton posted $4,000 bail, or 10% of the $40,000 bond that was set. As a condition of his release, Naughton was ordered not to drink alcohol and not to commit any new criminal offenses, court records show.

Naughton is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on March 11, court records show.

Kane County court records show Naughton was previously convicted of driving under the influence in 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2001.

Illinois Secretary of State records show his driver’s license has been revoked since Jan. 17, 1997 due to a DUI offense.