Police say a McHenry man accused of physically assaulting two children at a baseball game at a church in Wonder Lake fought a responding police officer and injured him while resisting arrest.
The Wonder Lake Police Department responded around 4:23 p.m. on April 23 to the Christ of King Catholic Church, 5006 East Wonder Lake Road in unincorporated Wonder Lake, for a disturbance.
Wonder Lake Chief of Police Kyle Mandernack said the call was received on the non-emergency line advising of an incident occurring at the baseball fields during a youth baseball game at the church.
The caller stated that a family member, identified as Devan Stephans, 30, of McHenry, was intoxicated and trying to leave the property in a red Toyota Sequoia with a child in the vehicle.
The location is in unincorporated Wonder Lake and is in the jurisdiction of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.
The county dispatch center was advised of the incident and the sheriff’s office was requested to respond, Mandernack said.
No county deputies were available at the time and the Wonder Lake Police Department was sent to assist until they could respond.
Officers arrived and made contact with Stephans, who was parked and sitting in the driver’s seat of the Toyota, Mandernack said.
It was also confirmed that a child was present in the vehicle.
Mandernack said officers attempted to take Stephans into custody for refusing orders and he began resisting arrest and fighting.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court alleges Stephans kicked a police sergeant in the back and pinched another officer’s forearm.
Emergency backup was requested and Stephans was eventually taken into custody. Two ambulances were requested to the scene.
An officer was injured and evaluated by the Wonder Lake Fire Protection District but did not require transport to the hospital, Mandernack said.
Officers also learned during the investigation that Stephans was alleged to have battered two other juveniles involved in the youth baseball program, Mandernack said. The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office was handling that investigation.
Stephans was charged with two counts of aggravated battery to a peace officer, resisting a peace officer causing injury and two counts of resisting a peace officer.
He was transported to the McHenry County Jail and has since been released on pre-trial conditions with a future court date of May 22.