Joliet's 1st Domestic Violence Defendant For 2024 Freed From Jail

JOLIET, IL — A 41-year-old Joliet man who Will County prosecutors say was standing in his living room yelling "Cocaine is bad," prior to a violent outburst inside his home, will not remain in the Will County Jail, Judge Donald DeWilkins has ruled.

On Wednesday night, Yebel Valencia-Sibira left the Will County Jail after being in custody the past three days. The Joliet man regained his freedom after the Will County State's Attorney's Office lost its petition to deny pretrial release for the Joliet who was living in the 0 to 100 block of North Cagwin Avenue.

"This court should deny the defendant pretrial release because the defendant's pretrial release poses a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons or the community, and the defendant is charged with" aggravated domestic battery and domestic battery, noted assistant state's attorney Charlene Recio.

According to Recio's filing:

On New Year's Day, at 10:08 a.m., Joliet police were sent to North Cargwin Avenue and the officers spoke with a young man who was a victim. He told them he was on his bed when he heard Valencia yelling in the living room that "Cocaine is bad," and when the victim went into his mother's room to ask why Valencia was yelling, Valenica walked on the balcony, court records note.

The young man followed Valencia to the balcony and asked what his problem was and that is when Valencia grabbed him by his neck with both hands, squeezing tight and blocking the victim's airway, the prosecutor noted.

He "stated it was hard for him to catch his breath when defendant was choking him," the prosecutor outlined. Meanwhile, a woman in the house intervened and tried to separate them and that is when Valencia pushed her down, causing her to fall.

According to Joliet police, officers "observed defendant to be heavily under the influence of alcohol."

After hearing details of Valencia's arrest, Judge DeWilkins ruled that even though the Joliet man was charged with a detainable crime, he has no prior criminal history, no other similar social history and his wife was present in court seeking to maintain contact with him and the judge learned that Valencia has other housing arrangements.

As a result, DeWilkins placed Valencia on electronic GPS monitoring from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and he must stay away from the victim and the house on North Cagwin.