An Elgin man faces felony charges after he reportedly threatened to blow up the 16th Judicial Circuit Clerk’s Office on Randall Road in St. Charles.

According to a Kane County Sheriff’s Office press release, deputies responded to the Circuit Clerk’s Office and branch court building, 540 S. Randall Road, at around 2:45 p.m. Monday, Aug. 31, for a report of a suspicious incident.

Deputies spoke to a Circuit Clerk’s Office employee who said she was cleaning a table in the public area of the building when she found a note that contained a threat to blow up the building. Circuit Clerk’s Office employees told deputies they saw the man who was sitting at the table where the note was found, and the subject was identified as Omar Betancourt, 31, of Elgin.

Deputies were able to quickly determine there were no suspicious packages in the public area where Betancourt had been sitting, the press release said. The operations of the Circuit Clerk’s Office were not disrupted, nor were the operations of the branch court located in the same building. The building, which carries the addresses of 530 and 540 S. Randall Road, also is the future site of the Kane County Diagnostics Center.

After taking the initial report, deputies quickly located the subject at his residence, 414 Lowell St. in Elgin, and took him into custody.

Betancourt was transported to the Kane County Adult Justice Center, where he remains in custody.

After sheriff’s detectives completed the investigation, the Kane County States Attorney’s Office authorized the charges against Betancourt for one count of disorderly conduct and one count of threatening a public official. Both are Class 3 felonies.

Betancourt appeared for bond call today (Wednesday, Sept. 2) at the Kane County Judicial Center. Bail was set at $30,000 with 10 percent ($3,000) to apply for bond. Betancourt’s next court date is set for 9 a.m. Sept. 10, 2015, in Courtroom 311 at the Kane County Judicial Center in front of Judge Clint Hull.

The charges against Betancourt are not proof of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the state’s burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

SOURCE: Kane County Sheriff’s Office press release

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