Antioch area man charged after slashing family member with knife

ANTIOCH – An Antioch area man is recovering after being slashed in the face with a knife by a family member.

About 12:25 a.m. March 13, Lake County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 21200 block of Route 173 near Antioch for a domestic battery in progress. Sheriff’s 911 telecommunicators learned a knife was being used in the battery and alerted responding deputies, according to a news release.

Sheriff’s deputies arrived and immediately were able to de-escalate the situation.

Sheriff’s deputies determined a 45-year-old man who lives at the address had been slashed across the face with a knife and suffered significant facial injuries. The man was taken to an area hospital for medical treatment.

Preliminary investigation shows the man and a family member, Aaron Locklear, 54, of the same address, got into an argument. It became increasingly heated and police said Locklear produced a knife with an about 8-inch blade. The victim was slashed across the right side of his face, causing a serious laceration from near his eye and extending to his lip.

Locklear was arrested and taken to an area hospital for treatment to a finger; he suffered a cut during the battery. Locklear was treated and released back into the custody of sheriff’s deputies.

Locklear has been charged with aggravated domestic battery (Class 2 felony), aggravated battery causing bodily harm (Class 3 felony), and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon (Class 3 felony). After reviewing the facts and circumstances of the case, the Lake County States’s Attorney’s Office approved the charges.

Police said alcohol appears to be a contributing factor in the incident.