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Delnor knife suspect has lengthy criminal past

A 30-year-old man accused of choking a relative and pulling a knife at Delnor Hospital in Geneva Tuesday has a lengthy criminal record and has been to prison at least three times, according to court records.

Justin B. Patzer, of Campton Hills, was arrested Tuesday night by police in Hammond, Indiana, and was being held at the Lake County, Indiana, jail.

A spokeswoman for the Lake County state's attorney's office said Patzer did not waive his extradition hearing and has requested a government warrant in order to bring him back to Kane County to face charges.

Patzer is due in court in Indiana Wednesday, the spokeswoman said.

Patzer faces anywhere from three to seven years in prison if convicted of aggravated domestic battery, a felony.

Patzer is accused of trying to strangle his brother-in-law, then brandishing a knife and saying he was going to kill someone, while visiting his father at Delnor Tuesday morning, according to court records and police.

Geneva Police Cmdr. Julie Nash said the incident came after an argument over the ownership and use of a vehicle the family shared.

“He pulled out the knife and threatened to harm (the brother-in-law) with it,” Nash said.

Patzer pushed a person as he ran out of the hospital, and while driving away he hit another vehicle, police said.

Authorities locked down the hospital as officers from the Kane County sheriff's department, Delnor security and the Geneva, Batavia and St. Charles police departments searched the campus.

Williamsburg and Heartland elementary schools also were placed on soft lockdown.

Nash said police followed up on all leads and credited “really good police work” for leading to his arrest in Indiana.

“We wanted to take him into custody not only for the public's safety, but also his own,” Nash said. “The most important thing was nobody got hurt.”

According to court records, Patzer, of the 39W100 block of Campton Hills Road, has threatened to harm himself and others and has been to prison at least three times.

In January 2010, Patzer's then 21-year-old girlfriend obtained an order of protection against him, citing instances of repeated phone calls, repeatedly ringing her doorbell, threatening to kill himself if she didn't talk to him, throwing a fake punch at her, and stealing her 2007 Mini Cooper and damaging it while she was sleeping, according to court records.

Patzer was sentenced to two years prison for a June 2007 felony aggravated DUI arrest in Geneva.

Before that, he was granted court supervision on DUI charges from crashing into a pole in South Elgin in August 2006, records show.

He also has arrests for retail theft in July 2006 and possession of drug paraphernalia in August 2006 and, most recently, on Jan. 14 in Batavia, records show.

His first prison sentence was for 24 months after pleading guilty to using a stolen credit card in April 2004, and his most recent prison sentence was for 18 months in May 2012 for damaging a sprinkler head in his cell at the Kane County jail, records show.

Police from several departments searched Delnor Hospital in Geneva Tuesday morning for Justin Patzer, who police said threatened a man who was visiting Patzer's father in the hospital. Courtesy of ABC 7 Chicago
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