A Cary man has been sentenced to five years in prison for violating his probation by consuming drugs and alcohol after pleading guilty to strangling a 5-year-old child in Cary.
Ryan A. Poltzer, 44, of Cary, was charged in February 2023 with aggravated domestic battery by strangulation, aggravated battery of a child causing great bodily harm and two counts of child endangerment.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court said Poltzer drove a vehicle in December 2022 in McHenry County while consuming alcohol.
Two children, ages four and five, were passengers in the car, the complaint said.
Poltzer, also sometime in December 2022, strangled the five-year-old child, a grand jury indictment said, adding that Poltzer applied pressure on the throat of the child, impeding their breathing.
The incident occurred at a residence in the 2800 block of Sun Valley Drive in Cary, the complaint said.
The mother of the children reported that Poltzer had been physically abusive to her on numerous occasions, leaving her injured, according to a petition for order of protection.
On one of the occasions, she said that Poltzer tried pushing her out of a moving car and that he had mentioned wanting to kill her and the children.
The woman said that Poltzer smacked her daughter in the face and also hit her son, according to the petition, which referenced the incident where Poltzer was accused of strangling the child.
Poltzer was out on bond in a prior misdemeanor domestic battery case involving the woman at the time of his arrest.
In December 2023, prosecutors filed a petition to revoke Poltzer’s pre-trial release after saying he violated his release conditions by committing new criminal offenses.
The new offenses involved a driving under the influence and resisting a peace officer case in Island Lake.
Poltzer’s release was revoked by a judge and he was held in the McHenry County Jail following the December decision.
Court records show Poltzer pleaded guilty in early February to the most serious charge against him, aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony. The rest of his charges were dismissed.
McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis approved the plea and sentenced Poltzer to four years of probation and 60 days in jail pursuant to the negotiated plea deal.
His time in jail was immediately considered served. Poltzer was also ordered to be fitted with a SCRAM device, which is an alcohol monitor, for 120 days.
He was ordered to undergo treatment for addiction and obtain a psychological evaluation, a sentencing order said.
Poltzer’s misdemeanor domestic battery case was dismissed as part of his plea. He pleaded guilty to his driving under the influence case in September and received a year of supervision.
Less than three weeks after his plea in the DUI case, Poltzer was charged on September 25 with attempting to foil or defeat a screening test, a Class 4 felony.
A criminal complaint said Poltzer substituted or spiked a sample with a liquid substance instead of submitting his own urine while attempting to deaf a drug or alcohol screening test at McHenry County Probation and Court Services.
Court records show prosecutors filed a petition to revoke his probation in the aggravated domestic battery case.
Prosecutors said Poltzer violated the conditions of probation by failing to report to his probation officer on May 10 and failed to complete drug and alcohol treatment.
He also refused to submit to random testing for drugs and alcohol on six different occasions in April and May before testing positive for cocaine, benzodiazepine and alcohol on May 20.
He later tested positive for cocaine on July 23 and his SCRAM device reported it was tampered with and that Poltzer consumed alcohol on nearly 30 occasions from March to May.
Poltzer also failed to file proof of undergoing a psychological evaluation.
Judge Davis revoked Poltzer’s release and remanded him to the McHenry County Jail on November 13.
Court records show Poltzer’s probation was revoked and he was re-sentenced in the aggravated domestic battery case to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) on December 20.
He will receive 115 days of credit for time served in custody. The sentence will be served at 85% in accordance with truth-in-sentencing guidelines.