Bond set at $2 million for Crystal Lake man charged with attempted murder

Bond was set at $2 million for a Crystal Lake man charged with attempting to murder a woman by striking her the head with a hammer and hatchet, court records show.

Mark Alex, 57, of Crystal Lake, would need to post 10% of the $2 million in order to secure his release.

If released, Alex, who is a Polish national, was also ordered to surrender his passport and wear a location monitoring device, the court orders show. He is not allowed to leave the state of Illinois without permission.

Alex faces two Class X felonies of attempted first-degree murder for alleging striking the woman in the head with a hammer and hatchet with the intent to kill her, according to the criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Monday.

Class X felonies typically carry sentences of six to 30 years and are not probational.

He is also charged with felony aggravated domestic battery and misdemeanor endangering the life of a child because a two-year-old child was in “close proximity” when the alleged attack occurred, according to the complaint.

Alex did not have an attorney on file as of Monday afternoon with the McHenry County courthouse.

Emergency crews responded to a report of a domestic incident around 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the 1300 block of Skyridge Drive, according to a news release Sunday from the Crystal Lake Police Department. On their way to the scene, the department was advised that the man suspected of the attack had left the scene.

He was found a few hours later in Algonquin, according to the release.

Alex was arrested about 6 p.m. Saturday and taken into custody at the McHenry County Jail Sunday morning. He remained at the jail as of Monday afternoon, according to the log.

The woman sustained significant injuries to her head and was taken the hospital where she remained Sunday, the Crystal Lake Police Department said.

An inquiry about her condition Monday afternoon was not immediately returned by the police department.

The child, who was uninjured, placed in the care of another adult, the police department said in a release Sunday.