An appeals court has denied a former Gurnee police officer’s request to have his conviction dismissed after prosecutors said he suffocated his spouse and beat her in Winthrop Harbor.
Michael E. Stoner, 38, of Winthrop Harbor, was charged in June 2020 with two counts of aggravated domestic battery, aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and two counts of domestic battery.
The charges were based on two incidents, one on April 3, 2018, and another on November 2, 2019, where Stoner allegedly battered his spouse in Winthrop Harbor.
Assistant State’s Attorney Demetri Tsilimigras said during a bond hearing at the time the charges were filed that Stoner abused the woman dating back to December 2016.
“This defendant has consistently threatened this victim and tortured this victim over years. Threatened to kill this victim. Also, he has threatened to kill the victim’s father,” Tsilimigras said.
Tsilimigras said that an investigation showed Stoner tried buying a “murder kit” with items like Clorox bleach, a shovel, rope and plastic sheets.
Attorney Joseph Zeit, who represented Stoner in the case, said during the initial court hearing that his client was “vehemently denying these allegations.”
Stoner had been employed by the Gurnee Police Department as a patrol officer for over seven years.
The Gurnee Police Department said that Stoner was placed on administrative leave after they were informed of the allegations. He is no longer working for the department.
A bench trial took place in May 2023 and Lake County Judge Christopher Lombardo found Stoner guilty of the two misdemeanor domestic battery charges.
Lombardo found Stoner not guilty of the three felony charges.
The two counts that Stoner was convicted of were in connection with the incident on November 2, 2019.
The victim testified that the two had been in their bedroom discussing their separation when Stoner became angry, yelled and cursed at the woman while saying he was going to suffocate her.
He pushed her back on the bed, got on top of her and covered her nose and mouth with his hands, she testified.
The victim could not breathe for at least 30 seconds and when he got off of her, she tried standing but Stoner told her he would not let her leave until he finished with her, she said.
He then shoved her back down on the bed and repeatedly pressed her face into the bed, causing pain, she testified.
The woman said she again tried to get up and Stoner shoved her against a wall, closed the bedroom door and slapped her in the face. The woman photographed her injuries.
During a sentencing hearing, Lombardo sentenced Stoner to 18 months of probation and 75 hours of public service.
Stoner was ordered to have no contact with the victim, not consume alcohol or illegal drugs, surrender his FOID card, not possess any weapons and abide by other probation conditions.
Stoner later appealed his conviction to the Illinois Second District Appellate Court, court records show.
He argued the testimony of the victim in the case was not credible and prosecutors failed to prove his guilty beyond a reasonable doubt due to that.
The appeals court recently issued a ruling in the case upholding his conviction.
“Despite defendantโs various challenges to the victimโs credibility, the trial court was within its prerogative as fact finder in rejecting some of the victimโs testimony while accepting enough to support a conviction of two counts of domestic battery, especially given the evidence corroborating that portion of her testimony,” the appellate court said.