Amazon Attack In Joliet: 10-Year Prison Term Issued

JOLIET, IL — A 60-year-old Chicago man has been sentenced by Will County Judge Ed Burmila to 10 years of imprisonment in connection with his attack upon a woman he had dated at the Amazon warehouse on Joliet's east side.

Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow said that Chicago resident Michael Smith was sentenced to prison for convictions of aggravated domestic battery, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, domestic battery, reckless conduct, reckless driving and interfering with the reporting of domestic violence. Smith will receive credit for the 294 days of time already served inside the Will County Jail.

The Will County Sheriff's Office booked Smith into custody back on Dec. 22.

According to Glasgow, Smith attacked the female coworker in her Jeep at the Amazon facility in Joliet; he previously dated her.

While her Jeep was still in motion, Smith grabbed her by the neck and strangled her while she was driving, Glasgow said. She struggled, and Smith pulled the I-watch off her wrist to prevent her from calling the police. He again grabbed her neck and strangled her, climbing on top of her while she was in the driver’s seat.

As she cried out for help, several co-workers pulled her from the vehicle. One of those coworkers was dragged by the Jeep as Smith drove away, and thrown by the momentum of the moving Jeep into a parked car. The vehicle was later recovered in Chicago, Glasgow noted.

“Once again, we are seeing a tragic case involving domestic violence,” Glasgow said. “October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Last year, calls to the Illinois Domestic Violence increased by 16 percent. An average of 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in this nation. That equates to an annual total of more than 10 million women and men. Our office vigorously prosecutes these cases to do everything in our power to assist domestic violence victims.”

Glasgow praised the performance of Assistant State’s Attorneys Alexandra Molesky, Elizabeth Domogalla, and Lindsey Browning, as well as Victim Advocate Emma Rannells, for their commitment and dedication in the case that resulted in Smith's 10-year prison term.