Former Champaign officer arrested for DUI
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URBANA – A former Champaign police officer who resigned her post two years ago after pleading guilty to drunken driving has been arrested again for driving under the influence.Champaign County Sheriff Dan Walsh said Lisa Staples, 41, who listed an address on Frank Drive in Champaign, was released from the Champaign County jail early Monday morning, about three hours after being arrested on Illinois 10 near Bondville.
Sheriff Dan Walsh said a deputy responded to a two-vehicle collision on Illinois 10 near Barker Road about 9:30 p.m. He learned Staples was driving west in her car when she apparently hit the rear end of a small sport utility vehicle that Kelsey Rose, 17, of Mahomet, was driving west on 10.
Walsh said the deputy's report had not been completed because he is out sick, but preliminary information indicated that an Ameren gas line was also damaged in the collision. An ambulance was called but Rose and her passenger, Margarita Solache, 17, of Champaign, refused medical treatment, Walsh said.
Walsh said Staples' BMW and Rose's Jeep Liberty both were towed from the scene.
Staples was taken into custody after being ticketed for driving under the influence of alcohol and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. She was told to be in court Jan. 31. She posted $100 cash and her driver's license as bond.
Staples had been sentenced Dec. 18, 2008, to 18 months of court supervision after pleading guilty to misdemeanor DUI. She admitted she drove her unmarked squad car the wrong way on Interstate 72 just west of Mahomet about 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 30, 2008. Her plea was the result of an agreement negotiated by special prosecutor Tony Lee, the former Ford County state's attorney, and Staples' attorney, Ed Piraino of Champaign.
Court records indicate she completed the treatment, the public service and attendance at a victim impact that had been ordered as part of her sentence, and paid her fines. Her license was also reinstated.
At the time of her earlier arrest, Staples had been a detective for five of the 11 years she served as a Champaign police officer.
