St. Charles man charged with chasing, beating Naperville cabbie
BY BILL BIRD wbird@stmedianetwork.com June 23, 2012 6:12PM
Thomas J. Marcotte Date of birth 4/9/77 St. Charles Arrested Saturday, June 16 on two counts of aggravated assault, one of battery causing bodily harm and one of theft of labor / services
Updated: July 25, 2012 6:53AM
A man from St. Charles is free on bond and awaiting trial, accused of punching his taxi driver during a stop in Naperville and then chasing the driver after he abandoned his cab and tried to get away from the man on foot, police said.
Thomas J. Marcotte, 35, faces trial in DuPage County Circuit Court on misdemeanor charges of aggravated assault of a transit employee, aggravated assault on public property, battery causing bodily harm and battery, according to court records.
Naperville police were called about 12:30 a.m. June 16 to the intersection of Westings Avenue and Route 59, near the CityGate Centre on the city’s far northwest side. Patrol officers arrived in time to see an “inebriated” Marcotte “chasing a man they determined to be a cab driver,” police Sgt. Gregg Bell said Friday.
Police learned Marcotte had hired the cab in Chicago and instructed the driver to take him home to St. Charles, Bell said.
The trouble was, Marcotte “never gave the cab driver his specific address,” Bell said. “He just said, ‘St. Charles,’ and the cab driver said, ‘I need more than that.’”
Police believe the cabbie eventually got off Interstate 88 at the Route 59 exit, stopping near Westings Avenue. Marcotte at that point “apparently decided to batter the cab driver several times in their disagreement about taking him home,” allegedly punching the driver in the face and head, Bell said.
The driver then leaped out of the cab and began running, with Marcotte in pursuit, Bell said. Police arrived soon after and took Marcotte into custody.
Bell added the driver was not seriously injured and did not require medical treatment or hospitalization.
Court records showed Marcotte was also charged with theft of labor or services. Bell said he did not know whether Marcotte paid his fare following the disturbance.
Marcotte in May 2009 was ticketed by Naperville police under a city ordinance for disorderly conduct, court records indicated. He pleaded guilty later that year and was placed on supervision and fined, according to records.
A July 24 arraignment date has been set in the latest case.
