O'Malley jailed following retail theft charge

Katherine O’Malley was not jailed after driving into professional basketball player Kevin Lisch in a Belleville neighborhood last month, but she wound up there after all.

St. Clair County Associate Judge Christopher Kolker remanded her to the custody of sheriff Rick Watson on Aug. 6, on a charge of retail theft.

Kolker found her unable to post bond of $5,000, and he set a bench trial Dec. 4.

As of Aug. 14, she remained in custody.

Belleville detective Timothy Crimm charged O’Malley with stealing a shirt and a pair of pants from a Target store at Belleville Crossing on Aug. 4.

Crimm wrote that the value of the clothing did not exceed $300.

O’Malley, daughter of former judge Michael O’Malley, drew regional attention to her traffic history after Lisch bounced off her windshield on July 5.

Police had ticketed her dozens of times, but she seldom faced consequences.

Judges and prosecutors dismissed tickets outright or bargained batches of them down to a single guilty plea.

O'Malley picked up four tickets in 2010, two for speeding and two for lack of registration.

She collected 13 tickets in 2011, including five for speeding, three for lacking insurance, and two for driving on a suspended license.

She defeated eight tickets at once in 2012. Associate judge Julie Katz dismissed them after imposing $200 fines for theft and a seat belt violation.

She briefly faced a St. Clair County charge of distributing heroin with current federal prisoner Sean McGilvery, but the charge was dismissed and expunged.

Last year she pleaded guilty to speeding 15 to 20 miles above the limit, and prosecutors dismissed tickets for speeding 21 to 25 above the limit and following too close.

Her record of soft treatment turned sensational when her car hit Lisch.

St. Clair County deputy sheriff Adam Quirin wrote her a ticket for failure to reduce speed. He said he ticketed her as a distracted driver, like one on a cell phone.

Lisch, age 28, in June signed a contract to play this coming season in Spain.