MOUNT PLEASANT – A Waukegan, Illinois, man was charged with Operating While Under the Influence (OWI) with a minor child in the vehicle and numerous other charges here Thursday.
Kenneth Daniels, 31, was charged by the Racine County District Attorney’s office with OWI-first offense, first degree recklessly endangering safety, attempting to flee or elude an officer and resisting an officer. All of the charges include repeat offender penalties.
According to the criminal complaint, a Mount Pleasant Police Department (MPPD) assisted another MPPD officer with a traffic stop on Highway 32 (Sheridan Road) near Larsen Drive when he observed a Ford Crown Victoria auto accelerating toward where he was standing. The officer ran around in front of his vehicle to avoid being struck. He then began a pursuit.
The vehicle, driven by Daniels, initially stopped on Memorial Drive but then drove away as the officer was preparing to leave his squad. The car was finally stopped in the 2800 block of North Memorial Drive. Daniels refused to step out of the vehicle and “continued to resist by pulling his arm away from officers,” the complaint stated. A five-year-old child was identified as one of the passengers in Daniels’ car.
Officers observed the odor of intoxicants on Daniels. When asked about maneuvering toward an officer at the previous traffic stop, he stated that he ‘saw somebody sir,’” according to the complaint. Daniels was then transported to a local hospital where he failed a field sobriety test and declined to consent to a blood draw. Later, a blood draw was obtained via a search warrant.
Daniels made an initial court appearance on Thursday where cash bond was set at $5,000. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for April 14 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave., Racine.
For more stories related to crime, click here.
