Joliet man facing lawsuit charged with battering civil process server

A Joliet man has been charged with battering a civil process server who was trying to serve him a lawsuit accusing him of failing to pay $5,425 to a roofing company.

Two felony charges of aggravated battery were filed Oct. 24 against Renard Jackson, 45, in connection with the Oct. 3 incident in the 6400 block of Baring Ridge Drive. The area is within Joliet city limits but has a Plainfield mailing address.

On Sept. 20, Crystal Lake company Expert Roofing filed a lawsuit against Renard and Crystal Jackson. The lawsuit alleged that the two owed the company $5,425, plus $982 in interest, for work performed on their damaged roof.

A civil process server visited Jackson’s residence about 9:30 p.m. Oct. 3 to serve him the lawsuit.

The server had documented her incident with Jackson in an affidavit of service filed in the lawsuit case.

After knocking twice and pressing the Ring-style doorbell, a man came to the door and spoke through the “obscured glass portion” of the door, according to the server’s affidavit.

When the server identified herself and why she was there, the man claimed that he did not know Jackson or the other defendant listed in the lawsuit.

The server asked the man for his name, and he “opened the door a crack” and told her: “I am not giving you any of my information. I don’t know you, and you need to get off my porch,” according to the server’s affidavit.

“I stated I could not prevent anyone from being sent again. […] I stated that I could not stop further attempts to interview the household,” according to the server’s affidavit.

When the server later researched property records, she found that the man “had been deceptive,” according to her affidavit.

When the server asked the man whether he was aware that the defendants in the lawsuit are listed on the property, the door “flew open,” and the man pushed her off the porch, according to the affidavit.

“I landed partially on the driveway and partially on the lawn. I had cuts and bruises to my hand, leg, ankle and had smacked the right side back of my head,” according to the affidavit.

The server called 911, and officers with the Joliet Police Department responded to the scene.

The man was identified by police as Jackson. He was arrested and given a notice to appear in court on a charge of aggravated battery.