A Palatine resident accused of striking two pedestrians — one of them a police officer — at the H.O.M.E. Bar in Prospect Heights, stood before a judge for a pre-trial hearing at Cook County Circuit Court Rolling Meadows today, Monday, December 18, 2023. Gorge Alberto was arrested and accused of driving while intoxicated after he allegedly hit two pedestrians and fled the scene at H.O.M.E. Bar in a red sedan.
After a traffic stop at Rand Road and Bayside Drive in Palatine, just minutes after two pedestrians were hit in Prospect Heights, Gorge Alberto was arrested and charged with …
Aggravated Battery to Peace Officer,
Aggravated Battery (Great Bodily Harm),
Aggravated DUI (Involved in Accident Resulting in Great Bodily Harm), and
Failure to Remain at the Scene of a Personal Injury Crash.
Jorge Alberto may also have been cited for Failure to Stop/Slow Down to Avoid and Accident.
During the traffic stop, Palatine police discovered damage to the front bumper of Gorge Alberrto’s red sedan, and according to the Assistant State’s Attorney, Gorge Alberto admitted to striking the pedestrians with his car.
Prospect Heights police officers responded to the Palatine traffic stop, took Alberto into custody, and transported him to the Prospect Heights Police Station. The intersection of Bayside Drive and Rand Road in Palatine is about 3.35 miles from H.O.M.E. Bar in Prospect Heights.
PRE-TRIAL DETENTION DENIED
The Assistant State’s Attorney petition for pre-trial detention was denied.
The Public Defender for Gorge Alberto stated that this was Gorge Alberto’s first arrest, and that he’s only had one traffic citation in his life.
The Public Defender also claimed that the date of the occurrence of incident was Alberto’s first time at H.O.M.E.Bar. He said when he left the bar, Alberto discovered a fight involving 15 people in the parking lot. Allegedly, the crowd was blocking Gorge Alberto and he feared for his safety and then fled the fighting crowd. According to the Public Defender, while fleeing the crowd, he hit the two people while the crowd was yelling threats at him. Alberto’s public defender stated that Alberto had not been involved in the fight prior to his departure.
The Public Defender also claimed that Gorge Alberto didn’t recognize one of the pedestrians as a police officer. According to the Assistant State’s Attorney (ASA), the injured police officer was in uniform and had responded to the fight scene.
There was no testimony from any Prospect Heights police officers in court, including details of surveillance video at the bar. The ASA also stated that the State’s Attorney’s Office had not viewed any surveillance video.
Also, Gorge Alberto refused a breathalyzer test, but submitted to urine and blood testing; therefore Blood Alcohol Content results were not yet available.
Therefore, the State’s Attorney’s Office petition for pre-trial detention was denied.
The Cook County Circuit Court judge ordered Gorge Alberto to …
electronic monitoring to and from work,
not drink alcohol,
not operate a vehicle,
not attend any activities at H.O.M.E. Bar, and
not contact any of the people he injured.
Gorge Alberto’s next court date is January 10, 2024 at 10:30 a.m. in person at the Cook County Circuit Court Rolling Meadows.
EARLIER REPORT …
Fight, then alleged DUI driver hits police officer and bar employee at H.O.M.E Bar while fleeing from fight scene in vehicle. YouTube Tips ⓘ
Police officers from Prospect Heights, Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, and Wheeling responded just before 4:00 a.m. Sunday, December 17, 2023 to a report of a fight in progress in the parking lot in front of H.O.M.E. Bar, 1227 North Rand Road in Prospect Heights.
According to the Prospect Heights Police Department, at approximately 4:00 a.m., police officers responded to a fight involving multiple patrons located at the House of Entertainment & Music (HOME BAR).
An employee of H.O.M.E. Bar and a Prospect Heights police officer were in the parking lot attempting to break up the fight when one of the suspects involved entered their vehicle and fled the scene. The police department did not disclose the suspect’s gender.
As the 22-year-old suspect fled the H.O.M.E. Bar parking lot, the suspect struck the employee from H.O.M.E. bar and the police officer.
Paramedics from Prospect Heights Fire Protection were dispatched about 4:01 a.m. Police asked paramedics to expedite because of possible serious injuries suffered by the bar employee.
A few minutes later an Arlington Heights Fire Department ambulance paramedic crew was assigned to treat the injured police officer.
Prospect Heights Fire Protection District paramedics transported the injured bar employee to Level 1 Trauma Center Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.
The police officer was transported by Arlington Heights Fire Department paramedics without lights and sirens to Northwest Community Hospital.
The H.O.M.E. bar employee remains hospitalized with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.
The police officer suffered bruising and was later released from the hospital.
The police officer was able to inform other police officers information that indicated the suspect’s vehicle direction of travel over the police radio. Approximately 10-minutes later the vehicle was observed driving in Palatine by a Palatine police officer. A Palatine officer stopped the vehicle at Rand Road and Bayside Drive.
A Prospect Heights police officer arrived at the scene of the traffic stop. The driver showed signs of impairment, and Field Sobriety Tests were administered and confirmed that the driver was impaired, according to the Prospect Heights Police Department. The 22-year-old was then placed into custody and transported to the Prospect Heights Police Department.
While in custody the driver refused all testing that would provide a blood alcohol concentration level. Detectives sought a search warrant for a blood draw from the driver.
At this time the offender remains in custody at the Prospect Heights Police Department. The offender is currently being charged with Driving While Under the Influence of Alcohol. Additional felony charges are pending.
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