Man pleads not guilty to cutting woman with knife, hitting another during altercation in Rochelle

OREGON – A man accused of cutting a woman with a knife and hitting another in the parking lot of a Rochelle business will appear in Ogle County court again Feb. 6.

Daniel Garcia-Aguado, 31, of Cicero, is charged with three felony counts of aggravated battery and one count of resisting a police officer following the incident that police say happened on the evening of Sunday, Jan. 19.

According to court records, Garcia-Aguado used a deadly weapon – a knife – when he cut a woman and then struck her during an altercation in the parking lot of Benny’s Corner Market, 601 E. Flagg Road.

Garcia-Aguado is also charged with resisting a Rochelle police officer when he “physically struggled” with the officer while he was trying to take him into custody, causing an injury to the officer’s shoulder.

Garcia-Aguado pleaded not guilty to all the charges when he appeared in court with his attorney, Assistant Ogle County Public Defender Eric Morrow, on Wednesday, Jan. 22.

Judge Anthony Peska set Garcia-Aguado’s next hearing for 1:30 p.m. Feb. 6 and remanded him to the Ogle County Jail after continuing Judge Clayton Lindsay’s order to detain him as his case proceeds through the court system.

During Garcia-Aguado’s Jan. 21 detention hearing, Assistant State’s Attorney Heather Kruse said Garcia-Aguado was having an argument with his girlfriend when a clerk came to her aid and was cut with a knife after Garcia-Aguado grabbed and struck her. He is charged with striking both women.

Kruse said Garcia-Aguado was currently on probation in Cook County and had another pending case in DuPage County. She said Garcia-Aguado had just been sentenced Jan. 2 in Cook County to probation on a domestic battery charge.

“We do believe he is a real threat,” said Kruse. “He is high risk, he has a long history of criminal offenses. He is dangerous.”

Assistant Public Defender Michael O’Brien argued that Garcia-Aguado could be released with conditions such as wearing an electronic monitoring device. “There is no evidence of him brandishing a weapon,” argued O’Brien. “There should be a presumption of innocence.”

O’Brien also argued that Garcia-Aguado’s girlfriend had “instigated the confrontation.”

“There are lot of unknowns,” argued O’Brien.

Judge Lindsay disagreed, ruling there was a risk to both alleged victims if Garcia-Aguado were to be released and adding that there were a number of other domestic violence charges in Garcia-Aguado’s past.

“Not even a month after his sentencing in Cook County and he has already been accused of committing this,” said Lindsay. “Clearly the defendant has no desire to follow court orders. There are no conditions that could be imposed.”

Detention hearings are part of the relatively new pretrial release directive in which judges decide whether a defendant should be held in custody rather than setting a bond for release.

Criteria used by judges to make that decision include the nature of the alleged offenses, whether the defendant’s release would present a “clear and present danger” to the community or individuals, and whether the defendant is considered to be a “flight risk” and likely not appear again for scheduled court cases.