Peru man pleads guilty to shoving, hurting elderly neighbor

A Peru man pleaded guilty Thursday to shoving his elderly neighbor, causing a minor injury, and awaits sentencing Feb. 3 at what’s shaping up to be a contested hearing.

Michael E. Stuart, 45, entered a blind plea to one count of aggravated battery, a Class 3 felony carrying 2-5 years in prison, but also with the possibility of some combination of probation, jail time and/or community service. Two companion charges were dismissed.

La Salle County Circuit Judge Cynthia M. Raccuglia initially scheduled sentencing for 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3, but then instructed her clerk to block off the following afternoon after learning both the state and the defense plan to call live witnesses.

Stuart was charged in summer 2019 after the release of a video of him quarreling with, and appearing to shove, his neighbors. The video went viral.

In open court Thursday, Assistant La Salle County State’s Attorney Jeremiah Adams said one of the neighbors, an 82-year-old male, alleged that Stuart pushed him over the guardrail at the end of their street. The man sustained what Adams called “a small head injury” that required treatment.

The video footage, Adams said, corroborated the 82-year-old’s statements.

Stuart wiped away tears before entering his guilty plea and spoke haltingly while answering the judge’s questions. He said he wished to proceed, but lamented the time getting the case to its near-conclusion.

Raccuglia agreed the novel coronavirus pandemic stretched out his and other cases to lengths that otherwise would have been unacceptable.

“Who would have thought that someday, something like this would have happened?” Raccuglia said.

Stuart will have an opportunity to make an open-court statement on Feb. 3.