A Downers Grove man already out on pretrial release from a 2023 case involving threats against a Westmont police officer is now behind bars again, this time accused of threatening to shoot an officer in Darien during a DUI arrest last weekend. Ron McClain, 47, registered a .23 on a preliminary breath test and was taken into custody after Darien police pulled him over on Saturday, authorities allege.
According to Shaw Local, McClain lives in the 400 block of Austin Street in Downers Grove. A Darien officer initiated the traffic stop on Saturday after allegedly observing McClain driving without a seatbelt, accelerating and slowing down for no apparent reason, and swerving within his lane. Once McClain registered the .23 breath-test result, he was arrested, the outlet reports.
Threat Allegedly Made After Arrest
After he was taken into custody, McClain allegedly told an officer, “I wish I catch you out on the street. I'm going to shoot you.” That alleged threat is now central to the new charges against him, which include one count of threatening a public official along with misdemeanor and petty offenses for DUI, driving while license revoked, and obstructing a police officer, per the same account.
DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin called the allegation extremely serious, saying it marked a second alleged threat to shoot a police officer following a DUI arrest. Berlin said DuPage County will not tolerate threats directed toward public officials and that offenders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, according to a statement shared by the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office on Facebook. Berlin also thanked assistant state's attorneys Anna Derkacz and Nicholas Covert for preparing the charges, and credited the Darien Police Department for its commitment to keeping roads safe.
A Repeat of 2023 Westmont Allegations
This is not the first time McClain has faced accusations of threatening law enforcement. In November 2023, he was charged with four counts of threatening a public official, a Class 3 felony, after allegedly making multiple threats directed at a Westmont officer and slapping papers out of that officer's hand, causing them to hit the floor, according to the state's attorney's statement. He was granted pretrial release in that case on Dec. 8, 2023, the Shaw Local report notes.
That earlier release is now drawing scrutiny given the new allegations. Judge Anthony Coco granted the state's motion to detain McClain pretrial on Oct. 25, meaning he will remain in custody as the Darien case proceeds, unlike the outcome of his 2023 case. The state's attorney's office statement separately credits the detention decision to Judge Jeffrey MacKay granting the state's petition to revoke McClain's pretrial release, with Darien Police Chief Greg Thomas thanking the judge and Berlin's office for denying McClain release before trial.
What Comes Next
McClain's next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 4, according to the Shaw Local report. As with any criminal case, the complaint against him contains charges only and is not proof of guilt; McClain is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, with the government required to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, per the state's attorney's office statement.
The case echoes a pattern seen elsewhere in the Chicago area, where threats against police during traffic stops have not always resulted in pretrial detention. In one instance reported by WGN-TV, a driver's threat to kill officers who had pulled him over for reckless driving was not enough to keep him jailed until trial. McClain's case was also covered by the Daily Herald, which characterized it as a second alleged threat to kill a police officer following his 2023 DUI arrest.
