By WMBD TV
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A jury next month could decide if Peoria Heights Mayor Matt Wigginton is guilty of DUI stemming from his arrest in April in a Downtown Peoria parking deck.
During a five-minute hearing Thursday in Peoria County Circuit Court, Judge Nate Bach set a July 20 trial date for Wigginton, who was charged in April after Peoria police reported finding him slumped over the wheel of his parked Lexus SUV after the Gridiron dinner.
The charge is a misdemeanor and carries a possible fine and up to one year in the county jail which is highly unlikely. He could also lose his license for up to one year, according to state law.
His attorney Kevin Sullivan said Peoria police officers were called to the Hotel Pere Marquette at about 2:30 a.m. on a report of a man who was sleeping in his vehicle, according to police reports obtained by WMBD.
“Upon arrival, I observed the male to be slumped over the wheel of the vehicle. I know this male on sight to be Matthew Wigginton and proceeded to his driver’s side door to ensure he was okay,” one officer wrote in his report. “I also smelled the odor of an alcoholic-based beverage to be coming from his body and mouth.”
“When speaking with Wigginton, I discovered Wigginton to have slurred speech,” the officer wrote.
The keys to the SUV were found in his front right suit jacket pocket, an officer wrote. It was not clear from the report if the Lexus LX570 SUV was running or off.
Sullivan, however, has said that he believed the car was off.
A manager at the hotel told police Wigginton had attended an event within the building that night. The manager told police he “was notified of Wigginton sleeping behind the wheel of his vehicle by another employee and found Wigginton asleep at the wheel.”
Wigginton was elected mayor of the village of Peoria Heights last year. He has more than three years before he’s up for reelection. He will next appear in court on July 6 for a pretrial conference.
WMBD TV first reported this story. You can read the original story online at CIProud.com.
