Choking Victim 'Felt Like She Was Going To Die', Will County Judge Releases Joliet Defendant From Jail

JOLIET, IL — Kyle Lewis, a 31-year-old Joliet man who was arrested last weekend by the Joliet Police force in connection with allegations of trying to choke a woman at an apartment on Broadway Street, has regained his freedom after Will County Judge Joan Meyers ruled against the Will County State's Attorney's Office petition to deny pretrial release.

After Lewis was delivered to the Will County Jail, prosecutors charged him with aggravated battery and two counts of domestic battery. According to court files, Joliet police officer Manashirov responded to Building 362 an the old Evergreen Terrace public housing project on Broadway Street for a report of domestic violence around 9:15 p.m. last Friday.

The victim told the officer that she had an argument with Lewis that became physical, according to the petition. Since the previous day, the victim had been trying to get Lewis to leave her apartment. Lewis got upset, grabbed her with both hands and placed them around her neck, prosecutors alleged.

Lewis then pinned her against the entrance door with her back to the door and she "stated that she could not breathe and felt like she was going to die, then defendant grabbed her by the throat and dragged her to the bedroom," prosecutors told Judge Meyers.

In the bedroom, prosecutors say a dog jumped on Lewis, and that allowed the woman to escape the room. When she tried to grab her phone in the living room, she told Lewis she was calling the police. He tried to grab the phone from her hands and threw the phone under the couch; the confrontation moved into the kitchen, where the woman screamed out her window for help, court files allege.

In the kitchen, Lewis grabbed the woman by both of her wrists and pinned her against the refrigerator, informing her she was "doing too much" and he bit her on the right lower right cheek, prosecutors said.

The woman later told officers that Lewis punched her during the altercation. Eventually, a security guard from the apartment complex arrived and knocked on the door. That is when the woman called the police, and Lewis left with the dog, prosecutors said.

Officers noticed the woman had red marks on her right ear, fresh bite marks on her lower right cheek and a swollen bump on her forehead. The Evergreen Terrace security guard relayed that a fifth-floor resident from Building 362 approached him in a panic and said that a man was about to hurt a woman.

The security guard heard screaming coming from an apartment, so he responded to the unit, prosecutors said.

Joliet police officer Moore found Lewis and his dog in the 500 block of Western Avenue, and he was arrested. Prosecutors informed Judge Meyers that the victim's 6-year-old child was present during the altercation and domestic violence when it happened inside her apartment.

"While defendant does not have an extensive criminal history, he has been arrested for a domestic battery that occurred on June 22, 2024," the prosecutor's petition noted.

In the end, Judge Meyers ordered Lewis to go on GPS electronic monitoring. Lewis must also stay away from the apartment unit in Evergreen Terrace building 362 as well as the victim.