Man From Moran Street Must Remain Jailed Under SAFE-T-Act: Judge Gavlin Orders

JOLIET, IL — A 35-year-old Joliet man from the 200 block of Moran Street now finds himself in the Will County Jail where he may remain for a long time. Joliet police arrest reports indicate that Leandro Garcia-Cornejo is accused of attacking a woman he knew was 4 months pregnant and then attacking a 17-year-old girl who tried to intervene.

According to the petition to deny pretrial release, which was granted by Will County Judge Chrystel Gavlin, Joliet's officers responded to the house in the 200 block of Moran on Feb. 8. The woman advised Joliet police that she received a phone call from a number in Mexico and Garcia became irate and tried pulling the phone out of her hand, court files noted. Garcia then pushed the woman toward the corner of their house and yanked on the collar of her shirt, scratching her neck, according to prosecutors.

The officers saw scratch marks to the right side of the woman's neck, to her cheek, and her neck was red from irritation. During the domestic violence, a 17-year-old girl tried to separate the two, and that's when Garcia punched the teenager in the face, prosecutors indicated. The 17-year-old later told Joliet police that Garcia was threatening the woman, pushing her and when the 17-year-old tried to separate them, she was struck in the stomach.

Back at the police station, Joliet police interviewed Garcia for his version of events. He maintained that he was trying to leave the house after an argument over a phone call. Then, the woman tried to remove his phone from his pocket "for unknown reasons." He claimed the 17-year-old punched him twice in the face and he kicked their glass door out of frustrating, shattering the glass.

Garcia denied he ever struck the pregnant woman or the 17-year-old girl at his home.

"Defendant further stated that (she) said she was going to physically harm herself to make it appear as though Defendant struck her," prosecutors informed Judge Gavlin

As for additional reasons to deny Garcia his pretrial release under the SAFE-T-Act, Will County's prosecutors noted that "Here, there were at least three minor children, 6, 14, and 17 years of age, who were present during the incident. The 14-year-old had to pick up his 6-year-old brother and remove him from the scene."

As for Garcia's prior criminal history, he was charged with domestic battery back in 2014 and received Will County court supervision. The named victim was the same woman who was attacked in this case, according to prosecutors.