Charges dropped against man in Naperville hammer attack

Charges have been dropped against one of two men accused of attacking a teen with a hammer outside a Naperville carwash last year, prosecutors said.

Solonius H. Caldwell, 36, has been cleared of felony aggravated battery charges stemming from an early 2010 attack on a 17-year-old who was struck on the head with a hammer by a passenger in Caldwell's car.

Police said Caldwell was driving a black SUV at the time and blocked the victim's car in while Cameron Delaney got out of the SUV and struck the victim in the head.

The 17-year-old victim later needed five staples to close a head wound.

An investigation into the February 2010 attack has been ongoing since the charges were originally filed and the DuPage County state's attorney's office decided to drop the charges against Caldwell on Thursday.

“In light of new evidence, we felt that we did not have enough burden of proof,” DuPage County State's Attorney spokesman Paul Darrah said.

Delaney, his passenger, admitted to hitting the teen once in the head and was sentenced to four months in jail and 30 months probation.

Police said Delaney and the victim had been in an ongoing dispute, which led to the hammer attack.