DeKalb man beaten, choked in Clinton Rosette Middle School parking lot

DeKALB – Three people are facing criminal charges after police said they attacked a man in the parking lot of Clinton Rosette Middle School and attempted to steal his wallet.

Taylor E. Kolk, 19, of the 23000 block of West Plainsman Circle in Plainfield; Bailey J. Gildea, 26, of the 8300 block of East Brick Road in Chana; and Cole H. Smith, 33, of the 300 block of South Third Street in Rochelle are charged with mob action, aggravated battery and battery in connection with the Tuesday incident.

Smith is also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. If convicted of the most serious crime, aggravated battery, a Class X felony, Kolk, Gildea and Smith could each face up to 30 years in prison and fines up to $25,000.

According to DeKalb County court records, DeKalb police responded to reports of someone being battered in the parking lot of Clinton Rosette Middle School, located in the 500 block of Sycamore Road, about 3:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Witnesses told officers that they saw two men and a woman beat another man and then flee the scene in a gray sedan, police said.

When police arrived at the scene, they found the victim, a DeKalb man, bleeding from his head and face, with what police reported were “obvious injuries to his face near his right eye,” records state.

The man told police he’d “been jumped” by three people, two of whom he knew, records state. He told police the trio had punched and kicked him in the head, face and body and alleged that one of the men choked him from behind while the other two hit him.

The victim told police that when we has choked, he then fell to the ground and had difficulty breathing but did not lose consciousness, reports state. He said his attackers yelled at him about wanting money and alleged that one of the men took his wallet out of his pants’ back pocket. The wallet was later recovered nearby, reports show.

The DeKalb man was transported by DeKalb paramedics for treatment to his injuries. Police reported that several witnesses stopped to help the victim after the attack.

One witness told officers that he saw a gray sedan pull into the parking lot of Clinton Rosette and park in the faculty parking lot, police said. The three alleged attackers walked behind a parked school bus out of the victim’s view and waited until he passed by the bus.

The witness told police the attackers then allegedly grabbed the victim from behind and began punching him on the ground, and also told police the man had been choked.

Another witness photographed the license plate to the alleged getaway car, which returns to a gray Kia sedan licensed out of Rochelle, according to court records.

Police later found the vehicle in the 1400 block of Sycamore Road and conducted a traffic stop. It was driven by a man with blood on his hands, who police said was Smith. Police said the driver told officers the blood was from fishing for catfish the previous night.

Smith consented to a search of his person, records state, and police allegedly found a crack pipe in his pocket.

Police said the front seat passenger of the car was Gildea, who police said also had blood on his left forearm and a scratch on his stomach. Kolk was also in the car, and police reported that she had scratches on her legs and blood on her shoes.

Police said the trio told officers that they nothing about the Clinton Rosette parking lot beating when they were asked about it.

Police arrested all three, and they appeared before DeKalb County Associate Judge Joseph Pedersen for a bond hearing Wednesday. Kolk and Smith were each given a $5,000 recognizance bond. Pedersen set Gildea’s bond at $50,000. Gildea would have to post $5,000 to get out of jail.

All three are next set to appear for a status hearing on the charges Aug. 31.