Genoa woman being held in Fulton County
By CARRIE FRILLMAN cfrillman@daily-chronicle.com
DeKALB – A DeKalb County woman was being held Tuesday in the Fulton County Jail in Lewistown on charges of aggravated assault to a correction officer and reckless driving.
Kelly A. Mainard, 47, of Genoa, is accused of driving her car at high speeds Friday through the parking lot of the Illinois River Correctional Center in Canton. State corrections officials said she was visiting an inmate at the all-male prison.
Mainard began driving erratically in the lot around 6:30 p.m. Friday but fled before guards could detain her, said Derek Schnapp, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Corrections.
She returned around 8:30 p.m., Schnapp said, and again began driving at high speeds — once heading toward a correction officer who had responded to the scene.
"She could see that these people were corrections officers, and she continued to drive at one," Fulton County State's Attorney John Clark said. "Luckily, he wasn't struck."
The officer fired his shotgun at one of Mainard's tires in attempt to stop her, Schnapp said. It's unclear whether a tire actually was hit.
Clark said Mainard was driving recklessly because she had been "turned away" from the prison Friday.
She eventually stopped the vehicle and authorities arrested her.
Aggravated assault to a correction officer is felony, Clark said, and reckless driving is a misdemeanor. Mainard's bond was set at $10,000 and her first court date is scheduled for June 10.
