'Let My Man Go!' Bleeding Joliet Victim Punched In Face, Eye Messed Up, No Longer Kept In Jail: Prosecutors

JOLIET, IL — It does not happen very often, but this week the Joliet Police Department arrested a domestic violence victim and the Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow filed a petition to deny her pretrial release under the SAFE-T-Act.

Because Joliet Patch is the only news outlet that covers the Will County Courthouse with consistency, it's another Patch exclusive.

Prosecutors charged 36-year-old Danielle Cook with aggravated battery, two counts of domestic battery and one count of resisting her arrest. Cook comes from the 600 block of West Jefferson Street, that small section of West Jefferson Street where residential housing exists.

According to the prosecution's filing, Joliet police officers on Tuesday responded to a domestic battery in progress and dispatchers advised that the caller, Cook, reported she had been punched in the face by her boyfriend, defendant William Starks, was bleeding and her eye was messed up.

Court records indicate the officers had prior knowledge of their dating relationship due to previous interactions with them.

At the scene, Cook's mouth and eyes to be swollen, consistent with being struck in the face. Officers spoke with Starks who stated he and Cook were consuming alcohol and got into an argument. He stated that she called the police when he
attempted to disengage from the argument. He further stated that Cook got her injuries from work and denied causing them, court files show.

According to Cook's statement to the police, Starks had hit her on the lip which caused her to bleed. She stated that he struck her with a closed fist to her lip.

At that moment, the officers tried to place Starks under arrest for domestic battery. While officers were struggling with him, "Danielle attempted to enter the room where everyone was and Danielle began to act belligerent in the kitchen, screaming profanities, and demanding to speak to William. She was screaming, 'let my man go,'" prosecutors announced.

At one point, Danielle stated, "bitch, let me go, and pushed her into a kitchen in front of Officer Headrick, shoving her in
the neck, face, and chest area. The pushing and shoving led to them going into the window, breaking it," court documents show.

Prosecutors noted that officer Guzman inserted himself in between both the minor child and Danielle and shoved them both, in hopes of separating them because they were in an active "scuffle." When Officer Headrick attempted to place Cook under arrest for domestic battery, she struck Officer Headrick with a closed fist in her left arm," court records reflect.

From there, Cook was taken to the ground, arrested, and transported to the police department without further incident. Officer Headrick also suffered a cut on her hand from the
broken glass window. Photographs were taken of William Starks and Officer Headrick. Cook refused to be photographed. DCFS was contacted for the two minors ages 16 and 14 that were present for the altercations, court files noted.

Jail logs indicate that on Thursday both Cook and Starks were freed by one of Will County's judges. The prosecution's efforts to keep Cook detained under the SAFE-T-Act was denied by the judge.