Prosecutors: Gun and ammo recovered after Earlville police chase

Prosecutors revealed Friday a gun was located not far from where a woman allegedly initiated a high-speed chase through Mendota — a pursuing Earlville officer was injured — and ammunition was recovered from the vehicle.

Those new details emerged during a bond-reduction hearing, during which a judge stood firm on $250,000 bond. Jaquaya M. Roy, 23, of Bloomington, Indiana (also listed in Chicago) needs to post $25,000 in cash to be released from La Salle County Jail.

Roy, who faces 1-3 years in prison if convicted of aggravated fleeing and eluding, collapsed on the courtroom floor in tears after learning she won’t soon be reunited with her two small children. Her speech was muffled by sobs and her face mask, but she appeared to tell corrections officers she lost her footing with her ankles cuffed.

She was removed in a wheelchair and with a warning from Judge Cynthia M. Raccuglia: “Ms. Roy, please don’t make it worse.” But the judge stopped well short of holding Roy in contempt.

Roy was charged after an April 10 police chase begun when a sheriff’s deputy initiated a traffic stop on a speeding vehicle. While the deputy was speaking with the driver, Roy, he smelled burnt cannabis and spotted several open containers of alcohol.

One of the passengers was a parolee named Kevin Chester who instructed Roy, “Go go go,” at which she sped from the scene. The resulting chase reached speeds of more than 100 mph, including in a residential area of Mendota where the posted limit is 45 mph.

During the pursuit, Earlville police officer Jesus Alonzo crashed his squad on U.S. 34 near the Meriden Township building, police said. Alonzo, an 11-year veteran of the Earlville Police Department, fractured his C6 and C7 vertebrae in his neck and suffered a concussion. He was not paralyzed and, after spending two days in a Rockford hospital, was released to the follow-up care of a neurosurgeon. Earlville Police Chief Darin Crask said Alonzo has “a very long road to recovery ahead of him.”

Friday, Peru defense attorney Doug Olivero asked Raccuglia for a bond reduction, citing Roy’s clean record and suggesting that alternate conditions of release would permit Roy, a full-time student, to care for her two children, ages 1 and 3.

But Assistant La Salle County State’s Attorney Jeremiah Adams disclosed in open court the recovery of the gun near the roadside — suggesting it was thrown from the vehicle as Roy sped away — and the recovery of ammunition after the vehicle finally was halted.

“She put the community at significant risk by doing what she did,” Adams said, urging Raccuglia to deny the bond reduction.

The judge agreed, noting Roy’s lack of criminal history had already been considered when she set bond earlier in the week.

Crask issued a statement saying he “greatly appreciated” Judge Raccuglia denied the bond reduction.

“It goes a long way in sending the message that when there is a nexus between someone’s actions and severely injuring a police officer it is taken seriously by her,” Crask said. “That means a lot to the family of Officer Alonzo, as well.”