West Chicago man faces 10 felony charges

A West Chicago man faces 10 domestic violence-related felony charges after first eluding police and later being arrested while hiding in the victims’ attic armed with a knife, police said.

Lucas Villa-Gomez, 37, of 1200 block of Kings Court in West Chicago, was arrested Wednesday by Pingree Grove police while hiding in the attic armed with a knife, Pingree Grove Deputy Police Chief Shawn Beane said. Villa-Gomez was the estranged partner of one of the people; the three victims are relatives, he said.

Pingree Grove police went to Sherman Hospital on Oct. 8 when three people identified Villa-Gomez as the man who tied up the family members and locked them in the basement for four hours, pushed them down the staircase, tackled them to prevent them from calling 911, and punched and kicked them, Beane said.

West Chicago police went to Villa-Gomez’s apartment, but he leapt from a third-floor balcony and escaped, officials said.

On the evening of Oct. 10, the victims requested a search of their home before returning there, officials said. Pingree Grove officers discovered Villa-Gomez was inside and contacted Elgin, Gilberts and Hampshire police for additional help. Villa-Gomez was hiding in the attic, armed with a knife, and was taken into custody after about an hour, Pingree Grove police said.

Villa-Gomez is being held in the Kane County Adult Justice Center on $102,500 bail on charges of unlawful restraint, domestic battery, interference with reporting domestic violence, criminal abuse of a disabled person, and resisting arrest, along with two outstanding DUI charges from Elgin and Hanover Park. He is next due in Kane County court on Saturday.