SALINE CO.— An Eldorado woman who made her way to the local police department to report that her boyfriend beat her found herself behind bars.
He too was taken into custody but his charge was dismissed.
Authorities say the incident began March 27 at 9:19 p.m. when Molli Jane Holcomb, 29, of 1420 Locust St., Eldorado, arrived at the Eldorado Police Department and reported that her live-in boyfriend, Alfred R. Chapman, Jr., 46, had just beat her up and that she needed medical treatment.
Officer Gabe Schimp said Medforce Ambulance was called and Holcomb was transported to Ferrell Hospital.
Shortly thereafter Mr. Chapman arrived at the police department and reported that Holcomb had thrown a phone at him and that it hit him in the face under his left eye.
As Schimp was talking to Chapman he noticed that his left eye was swollen and bruised.
Chapman refused medical treatment, asking only for an ice pack.
When asked, Chapman told officer Ryan Ward that he and Holcomb had been living together for three months in a relationship.
He told Ward that Holcomb had been swinging at him and that he was trying to stop her.
He said he was blocking her attempts to hit him with his arms and that he was trying to hold her arms from hitting him.
Both Ward and Schimp traveled to the hospital to speak with Holcomb but she had already been released.
They found her back at home and asked her what happened.
She said that Chapman had been acting strange all day and they scuffled.
Holcomb said she hit him toward his face and that he broke her cell phone.
She said she struck him with her hand and threw her cell phone at Chapman but didn’t know if it hit him or not.
Officers noted bruising on both Holcomb’s arms.
She was taken into custody at that time.
Schimp returned to the police department and took Chapman into custody.
Holcomb was charged with felony Domestic Battery, while Chapman was charged with a misdemeanor count of Domestic Battery.
Holcomb’s criminal history includes numerous arrests for harassment, domestic battery, resisting police and threatening to kill, most of which were dismissed.
She was convicted June 5, 2006 on one count of Domestic Battery for which she was sentenced to probation for 12 months and ordered to pay $1,332 in fines and fees.
A conviction April 11, 2012 of Aggravated Battery of a Peace Officer and one of six counts of Harassment by Telephone earned Holcomb a sentence to the Illinois Department of Corrections for four years and cost her another $820 in fines and fees.
At the time of her most recent arrest Holcomb has at least one pending case from June 26, 2016 in which she is charged with Aggravated Battery of a Pregnant/ Handicapped Person and Disorderly Conduct.
Holcomb was released from police custody March 29 after posting a $750 cash bond.
At about the same time Holcomb, the woman who first sought help from the police, penned a letter to the office of the state’s attorney saying nobody should have been arrested:
“I am writing on behalf of myself and Alfred Chapman, we don’t wish to pursue charges against one another and we would like for the no contact order to be lifted, neither of us wrote statements on each other and we don’t feel it was right for either of us to be arrested, and to not be able to communicate with one another.”
On April 4 the charge against Chapman was dismissed.
Holcomb is expected back in court later this month.