From the State’s Attorney:
COURT GRANTS STATE’S ATTORNEY’S OFFICE’S PETITION TO DETAIN MAN FOR AGGRAVATED DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE
McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese announced today that the Honorable Judge Christopher Harmon granted the State’s motion to deny pretrial release for James Conaway, 59, of McHenry, Illinois. Conaway appeared in Initial Appearance Court on November 12, 2025, charged with two counts of Aggravated Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, class X felonies, and one count of Driving While License is Revoked, class 4 felony.
Evidence was presented in court this afternoon that Conaway was driving a vehicle in the area of West Elm Street in McHenry, Illinois when he struck a curb and street sign, and drove through the grass.
Police officers from the McHenry Police Department approached Conaway’s vehicle and found him slumped over in the driver’s seat, asleep.
During the investigation, Conaway admitted to consuming 5-6 alcoholic beverages and refused field sobriety tests because he admitted to being intoxicated.
Conaway submitted to a breath test which revealed that his blood alcohol concentration was a .263.
Conaway has committed six prior violations of driving under the influence of alcohol and recently finished the DeKalb County DUI Court program for a violation of driving under the influence of alcohol from 2023.
State’s Attorney Freese commends the McHenry Police Department officers for their swift response and apprehension of Conaway.
“As our community has recently experienced, DUI offenders can cause fatal or irreparable harm to our residents. The actions of these officers likely prevented another terrible tragedy,” Freese stated.
Conaway’s next court appearance is scheduled for November 19, 2025, in courtroom 304.
Members of the public are reminded that this complaint contains only charges and is not proof of the defendant’s guilt.
A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
