Joliet Man Punched Orland Mall Kiosk Worker Who Stepped Into Girlfriend Squabble: Cops

An Orland Square Mall kiosk worker took a punch to his face when he stepped into a domestic dispute between a couple from Joliet.

The worker reportedly told police he noticed Darvel Alexander, 30, and his 20-year-old girlfriend walking toward his kiosk. The worker, a 29-year-old man, then “observed Darvel throw an item at (the girlfriend) and getting verbally aggressive,” according to a police report.

The mall worker “stepped in to stop the situation,” police said. “Darvel told him to get out of his way and to mind his own business. (The worker) stated he was going to call mall security.”

As the kiosk worker was “looking through his cellular telephone for the phone number, Darvel punched him in the right side of his face,” police said. The man “advised he did not know what happened next but Darvel fled the area and a short time later mall security arrived on the scene.”

Alexander ran off into the mall’s Sears store and was later captured after short foot chase on Ravinia Place, police said. Alexander reportedly claimed that the kiosk worker just would not get out of his way.

After the worker inserted himself into a private conversation, “Darvel told (him) that this was his girlfriend and they were only having an argument and to mind his own business,” Alexander reportedly explained to the police. Alexander went on to say that he “tried to step around (the man) and (he) moved in his path. Darvel said he warned him and felt he was justified to punch (him) in self-defense.”

Alexander’s girlfriend shot pepper spray into his face after he punched the mall worker, police said. Alexander reportedly told police this factored into his decision to take off.

“In a panic, he took off and ran out of the mall,” Alexander said, according to a police report.

Alexander was arrested on charges of battery and domestic battery.