A felon on probation went on a drug-fueled joy ride last week that ended when he crashed into a Gold Coast boutique and attempted to grab a responding officer’s gun, prosecutors said during his initial court hearing Sunday.
Adrian Guiterrez, 34, of the Avondale neighborhood, faces a list of charges in connection to the incident, including felony counts of attempting to disarm a peace officer, possession of a controlled substance and criminal damage to property over $100,000, according to Cook County prosecutors. He was also charged with driving under the influence.
About 11:20 a.m. Friday, Guiterrez was driving “erratically” through the downtown area in his Chevrolet Camaro, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Ravin. He drove the wrong way down several streets, hit an occupied parked car and “narrowly missed” pedestrians before barreling into the glass window of the Dior store, 931 N. Rush St.
Guiterrez, who was the Camaro’s sole occupant, then created a disturbance in the store and pulled a fire alarm, Ravin said. When Chicago police arrived, Guiterrez allegedly put his hand on the butt of an officer’s gun before he was arrested.
Several officers and the store’s security guard noticed a “white powdery crust” on Guiterrez’s face, Ravin said. A toxicology report later found that his system contained cocaine and a benzodiazepine, a type of drug commonly used to treat anxiety.
He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he remained hospitalized. The initial estimate for the damage to the store was between $250,000 and $300,000, Ravin said.
On July 7, Guiterrez pleaded guilty to a felony count of aggravated battery to a senior citizen and was sentenced to 24 months probation, Ravin said. He was previously sentenced to a year in the Illinois Department of Corrections on a possession of a controlled substance charge.
Mark Joslin, Guiterrez’s public defender, declined to provide mitigating evidence on his client’s behalf.
Judge Charles Beach ordered Guiterrez held without bail for violating his probation, setting his next court date in that case for Monday. In the new case, Beach set Guiterrez’s bail at $350,000 and scheduled his next appearance for Sept. 9, noting that he couldn’t hit him with a second no-bail hold under the law.
