DeKalb man sentenced to 30 years for 2020 violent domestic attack

SYCAMORE - A DeKalb man recently was sentenced to 30 years in prison after he was convicted by a jury who ruled that in 2020 he stabbed a woman in her car during a domestic violence attack, records show.

Angel M. Padilla, 54, of the 200 block of Augusta Avenue in DeKalb was found guilty by a jury of his peers in September 2021 of aggravated vehicular hijacking, a class 1 felony, aggravated domestic battery and aggravated assault.

Twenty-third Circuit Court Judge Marcy Buick sentenced Padilla to 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on April 27, according to court records. Padilla must serve at least 85% of his sentence and will receive credit for the 70 days he already served in jail, records show.

During the Sept. 16 trial, prosecutors Brooks Locke and Suzanne Collins of the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office presented evidence of the May 21, 2020, attack.

According to a news release from the state’s attorney’s office, the victim had parked her car in a parking lot on Augusta Avenue in DeKalb and was accompanied by two other people at the time. Padilla opened the car door, leaned into the vehicle and stabbed her in the face and back with a knife, according to the state’s attorney’s office.

“The is a significant sentence to the department of corrections that reflects the seriousness of Mr. Padilla’s violet actions, as well as the importance of ending domestic violence,” DeKalb County State’s Attorney Rick Amato said in a news release. “I hope the victim [and] survivor feels that justice has been served.”