Hardin man gets jail time in shovel attack

Maggie Borman

HARDIN - A Calhoun County man has been sentenced to 30 months of probation and a 90-day stretch in jail for attacking a Jersevyille man with a shovel in June 2007.

Rodney D. Gress, 43, of rural Hardin was found guilty at the end of a jury trial Jan. 30. He was sentenced Tuesday by Schuyler County Judge Scott Butler.

Gress was found guilty of aggravated battery, accused of using a shovel to strike an ATV rider passing his rural home. The incident arose when Gress had complained to police about four-wheelers speeding past his home for several hours.

Christopher Kraut, of Jerseyville, and a friend, Carl "Chris" Bradley of Alton, had been spending that June weekend at Kraut's family campground near Gress' home. Kraut and Bradley reported they had driven by the Gress home in a pickup truck about 10 p.m. when Gress and a woman yelled at them to slow down.

Later that night, the men rode four-wheelers past the Gress property, with Kraut in the lead, when Kraut saw a man come out of a shed near the road as he passed. Kraut said the next thing he knew, he had been hit on the head and blood was running down his face.

Kraut remained on his four-wheeler and continued on to his family's campground. where he got help from his friend's wife, an EMT.

Bradley, riding behind Kraut on another four-wheeler, said he saw Gress' hand and saw the shovel hit Kraut on top of his head. Bradley said Gress then stepped out into the middle of the road and threatened to hit him in the head with the shovel, as well.

Bradley noted the shovel handle was broken. Gress and the woman with him told Bradley to leave. Bradley got back to the campground to find Kraut with blood all over his face and a horseshoe-shaped gash in the top of his head. Bradley's wife wrapped the wound in gauze, and Kraut's father took him to Jersey Community Hospital, where it required 26 staples to close the wound.

Gress' attorney, Edward Fanning of Hardin, called Gress' fiancee, Susan Breden, to the witness stand. Breden and her two children have lived with Gress for 13 years on his family farm.

Breden testified that she and her children rely on Gress, the breadwinner of the family, for financial support. She said Gress also cares for his elderly parents and operates the family farm, in addition to working in construction.

"With all he has been through and his family over this, I think he has been punished enough," Breden said. "Nothing like this has happened in the past. Rod is a good man; it's just he got caught up in this situation. He didn't mean to hurt Chris Kraut."

Fanning said Breden's ex-husband and three other individuals sent letters to the court on Gress' behalf.

Calhoun County State's Attorney Charles Burch said he felt alcohol was a factor in the incident, noting that the court needs to mandate alcohol evaluation and treatment for Gress; that Gress needed to serve time in the Calhoun County Jail; and he needed to pay restitution.

Fanning told the court that "hindsight is always 20/20, and looking back, he should have allowed the police to handle the situation. But sometimes, people do put themselves or others in harm's way. He never denied he was the one that struck Kraut with the shovel, but he felt he was justified (in his actions), but the jury found him guilty."

Fanning told the court that Gress has no prior criminal history and should not be deemed a threat to society and sentenced to prison.

Gress took the stand to speak on his own behalf.

"I ask for leniency. I am truly sorry. I should never have gone to the road to stop the men; I should have let the police handle it," Gress said. "I am truly sorry I injured Chris Kraut, but I believed I was faced with a danger. I do not agree with the felony (charge or conviction). Now, I can't ever take my stepson or father hunting again. I will never put myself in this situation again."

The judge would have none of it.

"This type of bizarre conduct could have ended more seriously," Butler said. "And you today presented it didn't happen; we had a jury trial, and all 12 people unanimously found you guilty. This incident didn't happen the way you said it did."

Butler noted the lack of prior criminal history in the final sentence.

Butler sentenced Gress to 30 months of probation and 90 days in the Calhoun County Jail. Gress will serve time under a work release program that will let him get out between 5:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday on days when weather permits construction work with his employer. Gress must pay the $35 daily jail rate on days he works.

He also was ordered to undergo alcohol evaluation and treatment, which he must complete and pay for; to possess no firearms; to have no alcohol or illegal substances, although he may have controlled substances prescribed by a doctor; to give and pay for a DNA sample; and to pay Kraut $1,319.51 in restitution.

Gress also was ordered to pay a fine of $7,500 and court costs, and he cannot leave the state of Illinois without court permission.

Gress was ordered to appear at the Calhoun County Jail on Saturday morning to begin his 90-day jail sentence.

"Your work release is for construction job only, not farm-related," Butler said. "If you violate the terms of your probation, you will be back in court for resentencing."

Source: http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/gress_23774___article.html/home_kraut.html

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites