Prosecutors say a woman was forced to cling to the hood of a car as it was driven for blocks before it stopped at a fire station in Mundelein, causing the woman to fall onto the ground.
Jessica R. Marcia, 36, of Mundelein, was charged with two counts of domestic battery and one count of reckless conduct causing bodily harm.
The Mundelein Police Department responded on October 14 to a fire station for a report of a woman run over by a car.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Theis said officers spoke with the victim who reported she got into a verbal argument with Marcia, who is her girlfriend.
Marcia got into a car to leave the couple’s shared residence and the victim stood in front of the car because she did not want her to leave, Theis said.
Theis said Marcia began driving the car forward and the victim said she was forced to jump onto the hood of the car to avoid being hit.
The victim said Marcia drove several blocks away to the fire station with her on the hood, Theis said.
Video surveillance captured the victim clinging to the hood of the car as it drove down the road.
The victim suffered abrasions and road rash after she fell off of the car when it stopped at the fire station.
Theis argued Marcia’s actions pose a threat to the victim as prosecutors sought to detain Marcia in jail pending trial.
A public defender for Marcia said his client was leaving to get away from the argument when the victim blocked Marcia’s vehicle from leaving and jumped onto it.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim denied a petition to detain Marcia and allowed her to be released pending trial.
The judge said that while prosecutors met their burden to show Marcia committed the offense, he believed that pre-trial conditions could mitigate the threat to the victim.
Nerheim also said he took into consideration that Marcia has a successful career, no criminal history and strong community ties.
Marcia was placed on Level 3 pre-trial services monitoring and ordered to have no contact with the victim.
She is scheduled to appear in court again on Friday for an arraignment hearing.