Waukegan Road SWAT Standoff Won't Lead To Criminal Charges: Cops

GLENVIEW, IL — Prosecutors are not pursuing charges in connection with a stabbing in front of a Glenview liquor store that led to a multi-hour standoff with a suburban SWAT team, police said.

But two men police say were involved in the stabbing had warrants connected to past battery convictions, so they were both taken into custody ahead of bond hearings Friday afternoon. The man who reported having been stabbed, according to police, had an active arrest warrant for nearly two years, court records show.

"The investigation revealed statements inconsistent with the physical evidence," according to a release from Glenview police. The Cook County state's attorney's office did not approve an aggravated battery charge, and the Glenview police investigation into the incident is now essentially closed, police said.

Officers showed up shortly before 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 1200 block of Waukegan Road for a report of a stabbing, police said. They found a man with a puncture wound to his hand, and they were told the man who did it fled to his nearby apartment.

After the man refused to leave, police called in the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System, or NIPAS, Emergency Services Team, which went into the apartment building and pulled the man out in handcuffs shortly before 1 a.m.

Valon Zhubi, 39, was identified as the man taken into custody by the NIPAS team. Zhubi was initially charged with two counts of domestic battery causing bodily harm on July 19, 2019, according to court records. A family member who said they were fearful of their safety asked a judge to order him to stay away, alleging he stalked, harassed and abused them, according to a petition to keep him from two relatives and a miniature poodle named Hashbrown.

According to court records, he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge on July 23, 2019, in exchange for a year of supervision. Prosecutors agreed to amend one count to battery and strike the other from the court call. On Nov. 21, Circuit Judge Stephanie Saltouros denied a petition from prosecutors to find Zhubi violated of the terms of his supervision. Court records show a warrant for his arrest was issued in on Dec. 19, 2019, after he failed to show up for court appearances.

On Friday, prosecutors again filed a petition to find Zhubi in violation of the terms of his supervision. It said Zhubi "failed to take his medication, refused to respond to police officers causing the gas to be shut off and the NIPAS team to respond to [his] apartment."

Zhubi was held in lieu of the $10,000 cash portion of his increased bond and ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation. His next court appearance is set for Feb. 27 in Skokie.

Police said the man who reported being stabbed was 49-year-old Carl Caples, of the 6100 block of South Damen Avenue, Chicago. He was taken into custody at the Glenview police station after officers learned of his warrant. Court records show Caples, like Zhubi, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of battery within a month of being charged with domestic battery. Court records show former Associate Judge Yolande Bourgeois initially sentenced Caples to 18 months of supervision in May 2015, but subsequent violations led to the issuance of a warrant in February 2018.

As of Friday evening, both Caples and Zhubi were being transported to Cook County Jail for processing, according to a sheriff's office spokesperson. No attorney information was immediately available.