Dispute Led To Elmhurst Knife Incident: Cops

ELMHURST, IL – A woman wielded a knife in an argument with her boyfriend earlier this month at his Elmhurst University apartment, police said.

Leslie J. Loza Martinez, 19, of Chicago, is not a university student, but frequently visits her boyfriend there, police said.

About 9 p.m. March 16, the two got into an argument, with Martinez saying the man took her phone away from her, according to a police report obtained by Patch.

The man ordered Martinez out of his apartment, but she told him she could not leave without her phone because she had no means of getting home, police said.

The man then went to a bedroom window and threw the phone out the window, causing it to shatter on the ground, police said. Both went to look for it.

The man found the phone, but would not give it to Martinez, according to the report. She followed him inside.

Martinez grabbed an 11-inch knife in the kitchen, waving it and yelling at the man, police said. The man saw the knife and shut a door in her face, police said.

Martinez stabbed the wooden door with the knife and made a dragging motion of the knife across the door, the report said.

She went into the other bedroom and stabbed the mattress, police said.

The man emerged, holding a desk chair to defend himself and telling Martinez to drop the knife, police said.

Martinez then went outside and punctured the right rear tire of the man's black Nissan, according to the report.

The man got the knife from Martinez and took it inside.

The man's account aligned with Martinez's, the report said. He said he paid for Martinez's phone, so the phone he broke was his property, police said.

Both Martinez and the man said they never touched each other in any way.

Martinez was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, criminal damage to property, possession of alcohol by a minor in public and possession of marijuana.

Martinez was issued a no-trespass notice from Elmhurst University.

She was released about four hours later.