A Geneva insurance agent who has thrown his hat in the ring for a 5th Ward alderman seat said the circumstances surrounding his recent arrest have been misconstrued.

Mark Peterson, 51, was arrested at about 10 p.m. June 14 in St. Charles. He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, illegal transportation of alcohol, improper lane use and unlawful use of a weapon.

Peterson, vice president of Pinnacle Insurance Agency Inc. in North Aurora, also serves on the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

“I’m very contrite; I take full responsibility for my actions and I obviously didn’t exercise very good judgment,” Peterson said in regards to the DUI. “But so much of what was written in the police report and in the media is such a huge lie. It’s really distressing.”

According to police, Peterson was observed “weaving all over the highway” in his silver Mercedes convertible. When he was pulled over, the officer detected a strong odor of alcohol and said Peterson had glassy, bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. Police also noticed an unloaded 9 mm handgun in the center console along with a spare magazine containing 13 live rounds of ammunition.

Peterson allegedly told the officers he carried the weapon because he sometimes has to go to “neighborhoods that are not nice.” Officers also said he had an open alcoholic beverage, but Peterson denies that, saying it was actually a 16 ounce bottle of juice he bought from a local gas station.

“That it was an alcoholic beverage is totally false,” he said.

Peterson said he had been attending a Kane County Republican event in Elgin and was on his way home, reports state.

Police allege Peterson said he was “going to be a Geneva alderman in a few months” and dropped the names of several St. Charles and Kane County officials. Officers said many of the people Peterson mentioned are no longer in their positions.

However, Peterson denies he was throwing around names to get himself out of a jam.

“The comment I made was an observation that it was ironic that I find myself in the system after I had passed out petitions for (Kane County) State’s Attorney (John Barsanti),” he said. “It wasn’t a matter of trying to suggest that I had some kind of influence or trying to drop names. That is such a blatant falsehood.”

Police said Peterson is not authorized to have the gun, but Peterson said he has a valid Firearm Owners Identification Card.

Police officials said it took so long to get the information of Peterson’s arrest out to the public because of the office’s new computer system.

As for whether he will still seek the 5th Ward seat in Geneva, Peterson said he isn’t thinking about that right now.

“I’m obviously in a very serious situation,” he said. “Any interest I had in the City Council was not for glory in itself. I’ve never been about blowing the horn for Mark Peterson. Really, what it’s about is trying to contribute to society in a positive way.”

Lori Hewitt, executive director of the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce, said officials will wait until the outcome of his court case before making a decision on whether he will keep his seat.

“He’s innocent until proven guilty,” she said.

Peterson has a court date of Thursday, July 17.

He said there is a silver lining to the incident.

“I never realized how many friends I’ve had,” he said. “It’s been very humbling — all the calls of support.”