Judge orders psych evaluation for Yorkville man charged with making false terrorism threats

A Yorkville man accused of making false terrorist threats will be psychologically evaluated by a doctor, a Kendall County judge ordered Thursday, April 1, as the man authorities say threatened “to kill the whole city” appeared in court for the first time.

Claude Gauthier, 26, of the 200 block of Bertram Drive, faces two counts of making terrorism threats, a Class X felony, and two counts of making false terrorism threats, a Class 1 felony. The Yorkville Police Department apprehended Gauthier at his residence about midnight Sunday, March 28, after investigating violent threats made to 911 dispatchers the previous day.

In court Thursday, April 1, Public Defender Victoria Chuffo requested that a psychologist perform a mental health examination on Gauthier before his legal hearings move forward. Chuffo confirmed that Dr. Tim Brown, a private clinical psychologist in the area, expected it to be several weeks before an evaluation could be completed. Gauthier is being held on a $1 million.

The 26-year-old Yorkville resident appeared in court via Zoom from custody at the Kendall County Jail. Dressed in an orange jumpsuit with his hair half in his eyes, he spoke only to confirm his next court date, politely addressing Chief Judge Robert Pilmer.

Gauthier’s charges stem from a report police received from the KenCom 911 Dispatch Center Saturday, March 27 that a caller had threatened to kill police, paramedics and 911 dispatchers.

The caller “then proceeded to threaten to ‘kill the whole city’ and that he would start going around the state of Illinois to shoot people,” police said in a statement. “This same individual proceeded to call and threaten a business in the 200 block of East Veterans Parkway. The subject threatened acts of violence against this business and its employees.”

After an investigation, police obtained a warrant for Gauthier’s arrest and the Kendall County Special Response Team assisted in apprehending Gauthier at his residence before transporting him to the county jail in Yorkville. Gauthier was booked just after 3 a.m. Sunday March 28, according to county sheriff’s office inmate records.

This is not the 26-year-old’s first brush with the law, according to Kendall County court records.

Gauthier pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful harassment by telephone in March 2020, charges that stemmed from an incident investigated by Yorkville police in April 2019 that led a judge to issue a warrant for Gauthier’s arrest. Sheriff’s deputies eventually apprehended him in November 2019 while responding to “suspicious circumstances” in the 0 to 99 block of Settlers Lane in unincorporated Oswego Township.

In a plea deal, Gauthier had a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge dismissed and was sentenced to 180 days in the county jail and 24 months probation, according to court records.

Gauthier is set to appear in court again at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 27, for a final trial setting hearing and a status update on his psychological evaluation.