$300,000 bail for Marengo man accused of attacking ex-girlfriend in Round Lake Park
A Marengo man was ordered held in Lake County jail on $300,000 bail after authorities say he broke into the Round Lake Park house of his ex-girlfriend and held her captive.
Judge Paul Novak also ordered that Gary Reiher, 33, cannot post bond and be released from jail until after a domestic assault risk assessment hearing is conducted. That hearing will be Nov. 15.
Prosecutors said in bond court Friday that Reiher entered the 31-year-old victim's house on the 300 block of Highmoor Drive through a window about 4 a.m. Thursday. He is alleged to have dragged her through the house by her hair and her arm and to have poked her in the stomach with a knife.
He also choked and beat the woman and hit her 4-year-old child, authorities said.
Reiher kept his ex-girlfriend from calling police by smashing her cellphone, then dropping it in a toilet, authorities said. She was able to use an old phone about 10:45 a.m. to call 911, authorities said.
When police arrived around 10:50 a.m., Reiher escaped through a back window, authorities said. A police dog from the Lake County sheriff's office was called to the scene and found Reiher hiding under a deck 25 yards away, authorities said.
The victim had cuts and scrapes on her arms and back, and bruises on her chin, authorities said.
Reiher, of the 500 block of Eisenhower Stree, is charged with home invasion, domestic battery and violating an order of protection. If found guilty of the most serious charge, he could be sentenced up to 30 years in prison, authorities said.
Reiher has in the past attacked his ex-girlfriend, court records show. He was previously charged with and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of battery. He was sentenced to 12 months of probation and ordered to have no contact with the victim.