Deputy Charged With Battering Girlfriend
WOODSTOCK, Ill. (CBS) - A veteran Lake County sheriff's deputy was arrested at his northwest suburban home on Monday and charged with throwing his girlfriend down a flight of stairs.
Lake County Sheriff's Deputy Leroy Pugesek was arrested at his home in unincorporated Spring Grove by McHenry County Sheriff's deputies, a release from the Lake County Sheriff's office said.
In McHenry County Court on Tuesday, bond was set at $2,000 after Pugesek was charged with a misdemeanor count of domestic battery, McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi said.
Pugesek, 50, was arrested on a warrant issued after a "domestic related incident" that occurred at his home on Friday, the release said. He was released on bail Tuesday.
The incident occurred Oct. 15 when Pugesek allegedly "forcibly picked up the woman and started walking her down the stairs," Bianchi said, reading from the criminal complaint.
When the woman fell, he then "pushed her" the rest of the way down the stairs and "out the door," the complaint alleges.
The woman, who suffered injuries to her head, neck and breast in the attack, filed a complaint on Monday, Bianchi said. She also filed for an emergency order of protection, which was granted, according to the clerk's webstie.
A case listing on the McHenry County Circuit Court Clerk's website showed the charge, filed Monday, was a Class A misdemeanor of "domestic battery/physical contact."
Pugesek, a 23-year-veteran of the Lake County department, has been placed on paid administrative leave pending results of an internal investigation, according to Lake County authorities. Pugesek had most recently been assigned to the Highway Patrol Division.
No further information on the incident or charges was released by Lake County, and the McHenry County Sheriff's office did not immediately return repeated calls for comment.
A plea hearing is set for Nov. 8 in Woodstock before Judge Gordon Graham, Bianchi said.
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