A crowd of approximately 100 people gathered in the 1000 block of North Clay Avenue Tuesday afternoon after a 16-year-old boy allegedly struck a woman in the face. Jacksonville Police were already on the scene and witnessed the alleged battery when the crowd descended on the scene, Jacksonville Police Lt. Brian Coultas said. The four officers on scene immediately called for assistance, and members from the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, South Jacksonville Police Department, State Police and Jacksonville Police’s Special Response Team responded, Lt. Coultas added.
The other agencies were called to help disperse the crowd, Lt. Coultas said. With such a large crowd, there’s a possibility for an incident to occur involving violence, he added. But the 15 officers from local law enforcement agencies managed to disperse the crowd without incident. “There was no aggressive action taken towards a police officer,” he added. The 16-year-old boy was arrested about 2:40 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of battery after he allegedly punched a 20-year-old Jacksonville woman in the face. She was not injured and did not require medical attention. The two were allegedly involved in a verbal altercation regarding an incident that occurred a couple weeks ago, Lt. Coultas said. The female victim alleged that at that time, the 16-year-old boy had “flicked” a young child in the ear. They were separated immediately following the exchange of words Tuesday afternoon, but moments later, the boy punched the woman in the face, Lt. Coultas said. He was arrested by police without incident.

By then the large crowd of people had descended upon the 1000 block of North Clay Avenue. A Jacksonville woman was arrested after she reportedly continued yelling at the female victim even after officers told her to stop. Julie M. Alexander, 37, of 1611 Ill. Route 78 North, was arrested about 2:55 p.m. Tuesday on a charge of resisting or obstructing a peace officer.

Lt. Coultas said officers stayed in the area Tuesday night for extra patrol. “We didn’t want to have things fire back up,” Lt. Coultas said.  However, members of the Special Response Team left the scene before 4 p.m., he added.

Jacksonville Police Wednesday afternoon arrested three men, each on an initial charge of unlawful restraint stemming from what appears to be a hostage situation beginning late Tuesday night on South Church Street.
Those arrested were: Dion S. Jackson, 28, of 203 Franklin Drive; Tyrone M. Merriweather, 33, of Markham; and Seantae M. Hayden, 22, of Detroit, Mich. They are being held in the Morgan County jail without bond pending a court appearance. The arrests were made after officers collected evidence and interviewed the victims, suspects and witnesses throughout Wednesday morning. Four others who were detained for questioning were released from custody without charges.

Morgan County State’s Attorney Chris Reif said he was not filing any formal charges Wednesday against those arrested. He will review police reports and discuss details with officers before making a decision on charges, Mr. Reif added. “There is a possibility more serious, additional charges could be filed,” he said. Officers responded to an apartment in the 300 block of South Church Street after a man came to the police department about 10:30 p.m. and told police that he believed two people were being held against their will, according to Jacksonville Police Department Public Information Officer Tim Shea. When officers arrived, someone in the residence locked the doors and shut off the lights. Officers attempted to establish contact with the people inside, but no one would come to the door, Lt. Shea said. Because more officers were needed to secure the area around the residence, the police department’s Special Response Team was called to the scene.

While officers were attempting to contact those inside through cell phone numbers they were given, two males — a 22-year-old Blue Island resident and a 20-year-old from Harvey — came out with their hands bound together with duct tape, Lt. Shea said. Both had visible injuries on their faces. They reported that they had been held against their will and had been struck several times, Lt. Shea said. They were taken to Passavant Area Hospital for treatment and later released. “When police announced that they were going to release the department’s police dog, the seven came out on their own,” Lt. Shea said. They were not armed with any weapons when they exited the apartment, he added. Other than the two male victims, no other injuries were reported, Lt. Shea said.

Stacey Davis, 28, told the Journal-Courier Wednesday that she lives alone at the apartment where the incident occurred, but she was not home at the time. The two victims, friends from the Chicago area who have been visiting her since last Thursday, “were the only ones who were supposed to be in my house,” Ms. Davis said. Ms. Davis arrived at her home Tuesday night after receiving a cell phone call from a relative who told her that police had her residence surrounded. Police at the scene informed her that they received information “that they had two people held hostage at gunpoint in my apartment,” Ms. Davis said Wednesday. “That’s what the sergeant told me last night.”

Lt. Shea declined to confirm whether the hostages had been held at gunpoint. No shots were fired at the officers, but Lt. Shea also declined to say whether shots were reported prior to the officers’ arrival. After obtaining a search warrant, officers collected evidence at the apartment, but Lt. Shea declined to say what it was, including whether any weapons were found.

Ms. Davis said she is not aware that her two out-of-town friends knew anyone else residing in Jacksonville. “If they did, they would have been ... riding around and stuff like that. They never left (the apartment) once they came here. They never left.” She said she met the two men sometime ago at the Depot bar in Jacksonville. “They just happened to come down here, and I hooked up with them, and I’ve been friends with them ever since,” Ms. Davis said. Ms. Davis said she was not acquainted with the seven others in her apartment. “People were naming them off last night,” Ms. Davis said. “I have seen them, but I am not familiar with them.” Ms. Davis said she has no idea why her friends would be held hostage. “I’m so shocked about it, because I can’t believe this,” she said.

Investigators also are still attempting to determine a motive, Lt. Shea said. Jacksonville Police ask anyone with any information about the crime to call the department’s investigations division at 479-4630. The incident has frightened her enough to seek a new place to live, Ms. Davis said. After the hostage incident, “My sister and them said last night that somebody’s brother said they were going to come back, and they were going to kill me or some dang thing,” Ms. Davis said. “They were almost in a fight out here, and I wasn’t trying to hear that,” she added. “I was worried about what was going on in my house.”