Police say Wonder Lake man angry over texts sent to wife punched Woodstock man, causing brain bleed

A Wonder Lake man is accused of punching a Woodstock man outside an apartment complex, causing a brain bleed, court records show.

Robert Caldwell, 38, of the 7100 block of Algonquin Road, is charged with three counts of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm to a person older than 60 and in a public place, according to the criminal complaint filed in McHenry County court.

The charges are Class 3 felonies, which upon a conviction can result in a sentence of probation or up to five years in prison, potentially rising to 10 years if a defendant is deemed eligible for an extended term.

After a detention hearing last week, Caldwell was found to be a danger to the person he allegedly punched and to the community, and he was detained in the county jail pretrial. Authorities said he allegedly struck the man outside Walden Oaks Apartments.

Caldwell was angered after the alleged victim sent text messages to Caldwell’s wife, said Woodstock Police Chief John Lieb and Judge Carl Metz during the detention hearing.

On June 27, Caldwell allegedly “struck [the older person] with a closed fist in the jaw, causing him to lose consciousness and fall backward onto pavement, striking his head, causing bleeding in the brain,” according to the criminal complaint.

A juvenile was present and witnessed the battery, according to the complaint.

The victim was taken to the hospital and released Friday. He has since reported having blurred vision and memory loss, Assistant State’s Attorney Anthony Marin said Tuesday.

Police said authorities were dispatched after a “911 hangup” call was received, Lieb said.

“The allegation is that the victim had texted/communicated with [Caldwell’s] spouse, and this enraged [Caldwell],” Lieb said, adding that it is unknown if the two men had any form of relationship before the incident.

In ordering that Caldwell be detained, Metz cited that Caldwell “tracked down and battered” the man, the “attack was witnessed by a juvenile” and Caldwell had a “lengthy criminal record.”

Metz found that the alleged ”attack” was “viscous” and that Caldwell’s history shows “reckless and abusive conduct.” The judge said “no electronic monitoring or GPS would mitigate [Caldwell’s] risk, especially not to anyone who might send a text message to his wife that he may not like.”

Caldwell had two convictions in 2022 involving two separate cases of misdemeanor domestic battery, and in 2019 was convicted of battery after kicking a security officer in the groin, according to criminal complaints in the courthouse.