Wisconsin man arrested after hotel dispute

A guest at the Americas Best Value Inn & Suites in Glen Ellyn was getting ready for bed Wednesday night when she heard something bang against the door of her room.

Looking through the peephole, she saw a man standing over a woman curled up on the floor.

"He hit her and yelled at her," she said Thursday. "She pleaded with him to stop."

The man continued to yell and abuse the woman even after another hotel guest came out of her room and told the man that she would call the police.

At that point, the witness recalled, the man raised his left arm and pointed a silver handgun at the woman and said, "Go ahead." The guest returned to her room. She did not wish to be identified in this story for fear the man might come after her in the future.

By the time she dialed 911 on her cell phone, she says, the man was dragging the woman on the floor into his suite "kicking and screaming."

A short time later, about 10 p.m., police officers from Glen Ellyn and several neighboring departments were responding to the 911 calls from the Americas Best Value Inn & Suites, 675 Roosevelt Road.

"We evacuated some of the adjacent rooms, tried to establish contact inside and, ultimately, the woman ended up coming to the door," Glen Ellyn Deputy Police Chief Bill Holmer said. "We were able to get her out of the room shortly and take the male into custody."

Daniel P. Hershman, 34, who recently moved back to the area to live with his grandmother in Elk Grove Village, was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, aggravated unlawful restraint, two counts of domestic battery, aggravated assault, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, authorities said.

"None of the other guests at the hotel were injured, and no shots were fired," Holmer said. "We're glad that we could take him into custody without anybody getting hurt."

On Thursday afternoon, DuPage County Judge Neal Cerne set Hershman's bond at $175,000. If Hershman posts bail, he's not allowed to return to the hotel or contact the woman, Cerne said.

During the bond hearing, Hershman said he never owned a gun. "I had a gun pulled on me," he said. "That weapon was hers."

Hershman's relationship to the woman is unclear, police said.

Meanwhile, the witness praised the police officers for doing "an outstanding job protecting the woman, others and myself." Still, she admits the experience has left her shaken.

"I don't want to go anywhere by myself today," she said. "People with guns scare me."

Assault: Suspect says gun was pulled on him