DeKalb woman charged with attempted murder in stabbing held in jail pending trial

SYCAMORE – A DeKalb woman facing a second-degree attempted murder charge after a man was stabbed at an apartment Saturday will remain held in jail pending trial, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Iesha S. Gilmore, 23, of DeKalb, was charged with attempted murder, aggravated domestic battery and aggravated battery in an attack reported around 4 a.m. Saturday, DeKalb County court records show. If convicted of the class 2 felony, she could face up to seven years in prison.

At the time of her Saturday arrest, Gilmore was out on pretrial release for a pending 2024 felony charge of failure to register an updated address with the Illinois Violent Offenders Against Youth registry for a previous kidnapping conviction, records show. Her pretrial release was revoked in that case Tuesday by Circuit Court Judge Marcy Buick at prosecutors' request, the records show.

Records filed Jan. 19 detail an investigation into the Saturday stabbing by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office.

The victim, 21, who listed a Naperville address in court records, called 911 himself after suffering a single stab wound to the upper back. The man underwent surgery at a Rockford area hospital for a collapsed lung, but was alert as of Sunday, Chief Deputy Jim Burgh said previously. Burgh said investigators determined the stabbing happened after a domestic argument.

During the 911 call, the man told deputies he was stabbed at a Suburban Estates apartment at the complex on Twombly Road. He also told authorities “she threw it away” when deputies asked where the knife was, the records show.

When deputies arrived, they found the man “struggling to breath and gasping for air,” the records show. He then told deputies he was stabbed at Thirsty Liquors, 1039 W. Hillcrest Dr., according to court filings.

Deputies searched the apartment and found a large amount of blood and a piece of dreadlock hair that had been ripped out, determining it came from the victim.

The man later told deputies that earlier that night, he purchased two bottles of alcohol and then fell asleep, waking later to find most of the alcohol gone, sheriff’s deputies wrote in court records. The man told authorities he began to argue with Gilmore about the missing alcohol, and alleged she pulled one of his dreadlocks out, and then stabbed him in the kitchen with an all-silver knife, according to the records. The man said he wasn’t sure why Gilmore stabbed him.

When interviewed by deputies, Gilmore said the stabbing occurred at Thirsty Liquors, the records allege. Deputies said they did not see defensive wounds on Gilmore.

Investigators said evidence shows the stabbing did happen at the apartment, not the liquor store, according to the records.

Authorities said video surveillance footage from the apartment showed the man exit the apartment around 4 a.m., go down the stairs, then return to the apartment and slam the door. Video didn’t show anyone else leaving or entering the apartment between then and when police arrived, according to the records.

Gilmore is expected to appear for a status hearing in front of Buick at 9:45 a.m. Feb. 26. She’s represented by the DeKalb County Public Defender’s Office.