A suspect was arrested after he allegedly repeatedly beat a victim with a baseball bat, leaving him injured, and also attacked two other victims near Cary early Sunday morning.
The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and Cary Police Department responded around 1:58 a.m. Sunday to the 2100 block of Hillside Terrace in unincorporated Cary for a report of a battery victim.
A person called 911 to report that a 45-year-old man was struck in the head with a bat and ran to the neighbor’s home for help, according to police radio traffic.
Deputies arrived and reported finding two victims with extensive head injuries.
Deputies also arrested Matthew D. Armbrust, 40, of Cary, and charged him with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and two counts of domestic battery causing bodily harm.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court alleges Armbrust used a baseball bat to strike the male victim.
Armbrust allegedly beat the victim in the head, arms and torso with the bat.
The victim suffered multiple lacerations that required medical treatment, including staples to close the wounds.
The complaint said Armbrust also allegedly struck another man in the face with a closed fist, causing contusions and swelling around his left eye. That victim was a family or household member.
Armbrust grabbed a third victim, a female, by the arms and dragged her from the residence, causing contusions and swelling to her wrists, the complaint said. That victim was also a family or household member.
Court documents said the incident began when Armbrust got into a physical altercation with his girlfriend when one of the other victims attempted to intervene.
Armbrust punched that victim repeatedly until the third victim intervened, at which time he attacked that victim with a baseball bat, court documents said.
The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Armbrust pending trial, calling him a real and present danger to the community.
McHenry County Judge Cynthia Lamb granted the petition and remanded Armbrust to the McHenry County Jail.
“There are no combination of conditions that can mitigate the real and present threat this Defendant poses to the community or the person or persons of the community,” the judge said.
Armbrust is scheduled to appear in court again on May 22 for a status of preliminary hearing.