Lee County prosecutor assigned to former Ogle County deputy’s DUI case

OREGON – To avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, the Ogle County state’s attorney asked for and was granted a special prosecutor in the case of a former deputy charged with DUI and leaving the scene of a crash, both misdemeanors.

Judge John Redington appointed Lee County State’s Attorney Charley Boonstra’s office to prosecute Evan M. White, 27, of Rochelle.

According to the citation, White hit a pole in the 1000 block of North Second Street, then fled on foot when police arrived. He was caught, “smelled strongly” of alcohol, was unsteady on his feet and had bloodshot eyes, according to the citation, which was issued about 9:20 p.m. Aug. 17.

White, who also is charged with improper lane use, refused to submit to Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, according to the citation. Because of that, his license will be suspended for at least a year, effective Monday, Oct. 2.

He posted $100 Aug. 28, and has a pretrial hearing Oct. 10. His attorney is Russell Crull of the Rochelle firm of Tess, Crull & Arnquist.

According to court records, this is the first DUI charge for White, whom Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle confirmed Wednesday no longer is with the department.

VanVickle declined to provide further details.