Crime & Law

Battery Case Dismissed Against Aurora Resident in Dispute With Former Mayor’s Campaign Team

An Aurora resident who staunchly maintained his innocence on a charge of alleged battery against a member of former Mayor Richard Irvin’s campaign team had his case dismissed by a Kane County judge on Wednesday.

Ken Maurice was arrested in February after telling Irvin campaign workers not to place any signs on his property. Maurice told WTTW News members of the campaign team became belligerent when he asked them to stop.

According to the police incident report, the campaign workers called 911 and said it was Maurice who was profane and aggressive. And they claim he spit on one of the campaign workers multiple times.

Maurice said there’s no way for that to have happened and denies using any profanity. He said that he remembers spitting in the yard next to his driveway — more than 25 feet away from where the campaign workers were parked.

According to the report, the alleged victim said that “Maurice’s spit landed on his legs. … I observed (the person) to be wearing snow pants, and they were dry where he stated that the spit landed.”

At Wednesday’s hearing, Maurice’s attorney told the judge that a fellow campaign worker who was attending court said the alleged victim was not interested in pursuing the charge.

But a prosecutor told the judge that the state had tried multiple times to contact the alleged victim to no avail, asking for a continuance. After telling the judge she had just gotten a different phone number for the complainant, the judge instructed the prosecutor to take a break to call the alleged victim.

Upon the prosecutor’s return several minutes later, the state informed the court it had spoken to the alleged victim and would not be pursuing the case.

Speaking after his case was dismissed, Maurice thanked the family and friends who stuck by him during the process.

“I told the truth right from the beginning,” Maurice said.

But Maurice expressed hurt over the lasting effect the case has had on him and his loved ones. After the ordeal of the arrest, Maurice said his mother suffered a heart attack and is still on the mend.

“It’s a bittersweet thing,” Maurice said. “You want to be relieved, but on the other hand you wonder, why did I have to go through all this stuff, and why did others have to be hurt by it?”

Among Maurice’s several supporters in court was his niece, LaToya Johnson, who expressed confidence in her uncle’s honesty.

“The truth does not have to be defended,” Johnson said.

Contact Nick Blumberg: [email protected] | (773) 509-5434 | @ndblumberg

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