Harvard man charged with domestic battery in connection with New Year’s Day stabbing

A 25-year-old Harvard man was charged last week with aggravated domestic battery in connection with an incident New Year’s Day, during which he was stabbed, according to Harvard police and court records.

Juan Esquivel, of the 200 block of South Jefferson Street, was arrested Jan. 12 on a McHenry County warrant for aggravated domestic battery with strangulation and two counts of misdemeanor domestic battery.

The criminal complaint filed in McHenry County court alleges that, on Jan. 1, Esquivel grabbed a woman and pushed her up against a cabinet, elbowed her and intentionally strangled her.

The most serious charge – aggravated domestic battery – is a 2 Class felony, which typically carries a sentence of three to seven years in prison.

The woman was then “forced to stab” Esquivel, who was intoxicated, in the leg in order to get his hands off her neck, according to a motion filed by prosecutors Friday.

Officers had responded at 1:24 a.m. Jan. 1 to the 200 block of South Jefferson Street following a 911 hang-up where they found a Harvard man with a “severe laceration to his leg,” the Harvard Police Department wrote in a news release.

The Harvard Police Department does not plan on pursuing any charges against the woman, Deputy Police Chief Tyson Bauman said.

Officers provided medical care until the arrival of Harvard Fire Protection District personnel, who then took over, according to the release. The man was subsequently taken to the hospital and was released Jan. 12, the day he was arrested, Bauman said.

Members of the Harvard Fire Protection District and Harvard Police Department were recognized earlier this month for saving the life of the 25-year-old man who was stabbed.

Esquivel was transported to McHenry County Jail and was subsequently released. His bond was set at $150,000 and he was required to post 10%, or $15,000, in order to secure his release, court records show.

Esquivel pleaded guilty in September to aggravated domestic battery, in which he was accused of strangling the same woman while intoxicated, according to the prosecution’s filing. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation, ordered to complete an intervention program and have no harassing or abusive contact with the woman, and prohibited from consuming drugs or alcohol.

A petition seeking to revoke Esquivel’s probation is that case was filed this month.

An attempt to reach Esquivel’s attorney, Joseph Ponitz, on Wednesday was not successful.