Felon who fled police in McHenry, Kane counties pleads guilty to stolen gun possession, gets 9 years in prison

A felon who police say injured two McHenry County Sheriff’s deputies during a traffic stop in Crystal Lake pleaded guilty Wednesday to possessing a stolen gun and was sentenced to 9½ years in prison.

Quinelle Franklin, 33, pleaded guilty to being an armed habitual criminal, a Class X felony. He is required to serve 85% of his prison term. When released, he will be on mandatory supervised release for three years, according to the judgment order in the McHenry County court signed by Judge Mark Gerhardt.

He will receive credit for 69 days served in the county jail since his arrest in August. In exchange for the guilty plea, other charges were dismissed, including aggravated unlawful use of a weapon with a previous felony conviction, possession of a stolen firearm, aggravated battery and aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer causing injury, according to the order.

Authorities said they attempted to pull Franklin over at about 7:30 p.m. Aug. 30 while he was driving an uninsured vehicle with illegal red lighting on his rear bumper; he was not wearing a seat belt and his license was revoked at the time. He drove 7 mph over the 55 mph limit on Route 31 and crossed the center median on Cog Circle twice, authorities said.

As McHenry County sheriff’s deputies tried to make a traffic stop, Franklin allegedly fled, injuring one deputy’s hand and pinching his finger and “brushing” another deputy with his vehicle, according to the complaint.

Deputies also found that Franklin was in possession of a stolen and loaded Smith and Wesson .40-caliber gun that had been reported stolen in Crystal Lake on Aug. 27, as well as seven .40-caliber rounds of ammunition, according to the complaint. Due to his previous convictions, it is illegal for Franklin to be in the possession of guns or ammunition.

At the time of the incident, Franklin was serving six months of misdemeanor supervision for leaving the scene of an accident in January, court records show.

Franklin was set to have his case heard in a bench trial before Gerhardt Thursday afternoon. Wednesday morning, Franklin appeared in court and told the judge he wanted to dismiss his assistant public defender and hire a private attorney. Assistant State’s Attorney Maria Marek objected and said Franklin “was playing games with the court.” Gerhardt denied Franklin’s request and said he would see Franklin Thursday for trial, and Franklin was returned to the lockup. He eventually returned to Gerhardt’s courtroom Wednesday and entered into the guilty plea.

In August, when Franklin made his initial appearance before Judge Carl Metz, who detained him pretrial, Metz noted Franklin’s “significant criminal history,” including a conviction for aggravated fleeing and eluding in 2023 in Kane County.

In the Kane County case, Franklin fled police at high speeds, crashing his silver Ford Escape into parked cars before fleeing on foot. He eventually was found in a locked bathroom at a Shell gas station on West Main Street in St. Charles. The search involved K-9s and a drone team and led to nearby schools being placed on lockout, according to a Kane County Chronicle report at the time of his arrest.

Franklin also has had convictions in Kane County for aggravated battery in 2010 and for possessing a firearm as a felon in 2018, according to the McHenry County complaint.