A former golf pro living in Lake Villa has been ordered detained in Lake County jail after being charged with what prosecutors believe is his 8th DUI during an incident in Gurnee Saturday.
Bradford Goar, 50, of Lake Villa, was allegedly intoxicated and driving when he hit a U-Haul loading ramp and storage unit door at Cube Self Storage in Gurnee on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.
Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney Nicholas Shepherd said in court on Sunday that Gurnee police were called to the storage facility after an intoxicated man drove into a storage unit garage door and was causing a disturbance with patrons.
The victims at the scene told police they were unloading a U-Haul truck that had a steel loading ramp extended out of the back of the vehicle when Goar drove over the ramp and into a storage unit door about 10 to 15 feet away, Shepherd said in court.
Goar got out of his car, Shepherd said, and the victims snatched the keys from him to prevent him from driving away.
Officers arrived at the storage facility and made contact with the Lake Villa resident, Shepherd said, who smelled of a strong alcohol odor and displayed slurred speech and bloodshot, glassy eyes.
Shepherd said Goar needed help to stand up and nearly fell twice when speaking with officers, Shepherd said.
Goar refused to take field sobriety tests or give a breath sample to police.
Goar was officially charged with a Class X felony of Aggravated DUI 6+ offenses, a class A misdemeanor charge of DUI, and a petty driving offense for not having valid insurance after a review of the case by the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Goar is also not allowed to drive because his license is revoked due to the many DUIs, prosecutors said in court.
During Sunday’s court appearance, prosecutors said the arrest in Gurnee was “at least” his 6th DUI.
During his court-ordered Detention hearing in front of Lake County Circuit Court Judge Michael Nerheim on Tuesday, prosecutors said Gore has been charged with DUI three times in South Carolina, twice in Wisconsin, once in Illinois and once in Nevada.
In addition, there’s an outstanding DUI warrant for Goar in Ohio, Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney Colleen McConnell.
Because of the many convictions, Gore has done several stints in prison, McConnell said, including a three-and-a-half-year stint in the Illinois Department of Corrections and another three-and-a-half-year stint in prison in Wisconsin.
Defense attorney Gregg Wolpoff said Goar previously worked as a golf pro, which explained why the DUIs were spread across the country. He moved to Lake Villa to care for his elderly father, Wolpoff said.
In addition, he said Goar, who owns a Lake County landscaping business, was clean for several years but relapsed the day of the Gurnee incident. Wolpoff said in court.
“I do believe that he is a real and present danger to the public who might be driving,” Nerheim said. “I also don’t believe there are not any conditions I can impose that would guarantee he would not drink and drive again.”
Nerheim did tell Goar he could be released from Lake County jail before trial, but only if the Lake Villa resident agrees to enter a locked substance abuse treatment program while awaiting trial.
Goar is due back in court on June 30.