The Law Offices of Kathleen Colton, Ltd.
Criminal Defense / P.O. Box 1364 / St. Charles, IL 60174
Jury: Man guilty of lesser charge
By KELLEY CASINO
Kane County Chronicle
ST. CHARLES – A Batavia man did not restrain his 80-year-old grandmother, but did break the law when he entered her Batavia home, a Kane County jury ruled Monday.
William Colborn, 32, was found guilty Monday of violating an order of protection and criminal trespass to a residence, but was acquitted of unlawful restraint by the jury of nine men and three women after a 90-minute deliberation.
Colborn, who is scheduled to be sentenced in April, was arrested in the early morning hours of July 5, 2006, after a more-than five-hour standoff with police at his grandmother’s 36W283 McKee Street home.
An order of protection, dated Nov. 1, 2005, bars him from being near the home as a result of his history of violence against his grandmother, Ruth.
Ruth Colborn testified Monday that she had invited William Colborn to live with her and do various jobs around the house, such as mowing the lawn.
An invitation, however, does not void a court order, which Assistant State’s Attorney Amy Engerman said Colborn was fully aware of and had signed.
Witnesses said Colborn was seen walking around the house naked, turning on lights, talking to himself, and laughing.
Court records show that he has a history of mental illness, including schizophrenia and psychosis. He has received treatment at the Elgin Mental Health Center and, at one time, had been deemed mentally unfit to stand trial.
Questions about his mental status were not permitted at Monday’s trial, which led Colborn’s attorney, Kathleen Colton, to seek a mistrial. That request was denied by Judge James Hallock.
Ruth Colborn said her grandson did not physically restrain her during the incident, but when asked if she could have left the home, she said, “I didn’t try when he was right there with me because I was concerned he wouldn’t let me go ... I was too scared to try, so I just sat there.”
She patted Colborn on the shoulder on her way out of the courtroom.
Batavia Police and Kane County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the home after Ruth Colborn’s granddaughter saw William Colborn at the house.
When the 80-year-old left the house, a tactical team attempted to arrest William Colborn, who was brought down by a police canine. Colborn suffered injuries to his groin.
Colborn previously was sentenced to three years in prison for a July 2004 incident, where he hit and pushed his grandmother, giving her a cut to her forehead and bruises, court records show.
He also served jail time for reportedly whipping his grandmother with a horse whip and abusing another female relative, according to court records.
