A Crystal Lake man was arrested after police say he broke into his ex-girlfriend’s Woodstock house, sent pictures to the woman showing he was inside her home, and then barricaded himself inside and refused to leave.
Travis L. Howard, 34, of the 200 block of Illinois Street in Crystal Lake, was charged with criminal trespass to residence and criminal damage to property.
The Woodstock Police Department responded around 3:45 a.m. Thursday to the 2300 block of Aspen Lane in Woodstock for a report of a person who broke into a residence.
Woodstock Deputy Police Chief Jeffrey Parsons said that the suspect, identified as Howard, had a previous dating relationship with the female victim who lived at the residence.
The relationship had ended approximately six weeks prior to this incident and he did not live at the victim’s home.
Howard had texted the victim around 1:30 a.m. asking her for a ride after he was arrested for a separate incident outside of Woodstock.
“Based on the text messages he was sending her, she believed he might attempt to come to her residence, so she decided to reside elsewhere for the evening,” Parsons said.
Howard began to text the victim again around 3:40 a.m. The texts included photos from inside the victim’s residence.
The man had barricaded himself inside the residence and refused to leave, Parsons said.
Officers discovered a damaged window on the exterior of the residence which Howard used to gain entry.
Officers attempted several times to make contact with Howard inside the residence but he refused to respond to them.
Parsons said that officers made entry into the residence with permission from the victim and the man was located inside and taken into custody.
Howard was released from the McHenry County jail after posting 10% of his $1,500 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.