Teen pleads guilty to battery for role in Jacobs fight

An Algonquin teen arrested in May for striking a female classmate during a fight at Jacobs High School pleaded guilty to a reduced charge Monday to avoid a possible felony conviction.

Dowayne Beckford, 17, admitted guilt to misdemeanor battery under a plea deal in which he agreed to spend the next year on court supervision, pay $300 in court costs and perform 20 hours of community service.

Beckford had been scheduled to go on trial Monday for a felony charge of aggravated battery stemming from the May 12 incident in which he was accused of punching 18-year-old Karen Ibarra in the eye during an altercation on campus.

Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Philip Hiscock said Monday the punch did not cause bodily harm to Ibarra and that Beckford had been provoked.

Ibarra, also of Algonquin, faces an aggravated battery charge alleging she shoved Beckford before the punch. She is scheduled to appear in court on the charge later this month.

Police said the fight had been sparked by an incident several days earlier in which students from another school went to Jacobs' campus and shouted gang slurs. However, police identified neither Beckford nor Ibarra as gang members.