Man Accused Of Choking Woman Who Refused To Have Sex At Channahon Motel: Complaint

CHANNAHON, IL — Will County Judge James B. Harvey, who continues to release more and more Will County Jail inmates accused of violent crimes, has ruled in favor of a 43-year-old Channahon man who is accused of choking a woman from Ohio inside his motel room at the Manor Motel, which is right off Interstate 55 at Route 6.

Channahon police made the arrest last weekend, and prosecutors charged David Cleaves with aggravated domestic battery and domestic battery. The Will County State's Attorney's Office filed their petition to deny pretrial release under the SAFE-T Act, but Judge Harvey, as he often does now, rejected the petition and ordered Cleaves to regain his freedom from the Will County Jail immediately.

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According to the prosecution's filing, Cleaves grabbed the woman by her neck on Oct. 11, and then he tried to strangle her.

That day, Channahon police responded to the Manor Motel at 23926 W. Eames St./Route 6 for a domestic problem. The victim told the officers she and Cleaves, who is her boyfriend, went to a wedding the previous day, and she was going to drive home to Ohio, where she lived, but Cleaves talked her into staying the night with him at the hotel. She told the police that Cleaves was intoxicated and wanted to have sex, but she did not feel well and refused to have sex with him, court files show.

Prosecutors noted how "they argued about who would have custody of their dog" before "he choked her and she pushed him off and called 911."

Court files reflect that the Ohio woman staying at the Channahon hotel had redness on her neck and that Cleaves was arrested. Cleaves told the police how they had argued about her taking the dog, court records show. Cleaves suffered a cut on his chin that he indicated came from his girlfriend striking him the previous day at the wedding, prosecutors outlined in their petition.

In the end, Harvey rejected the petition to deny pretrial release and granted Cleaves his freedom without any electronic monitoring. The judge's only noteworthy condition of pretrial release is that Cleaves must stay away from his girlfriend "until further order from the court."

After three days in custody, Cleaves returned to Channahon on Tuesday, the jail logs reflect.

Cleaves also spent time in the Will County Jail in November 2021 after Joliet police arrested him on charges of domestic battery, interfering with a 911 emergency call and criminal damage to property. However, by February 2023, the case had fallen apart, and all of his charges were dismissed. Prosecutors informed the judge at the time that they no longer had a complaining witness willing to testify at Cleaves' upcoming trial, court files show.