Judge releases man charged with attempted murder in DeKalb stabbing

SYCAMORE – A DeKalb County judge on Monday released a Kingston man charged with attempted murder in a DeKalb stabbing, citing law that requires court rulings to consider release if the threat can be mitigated.

Circuit Court Judge Joseph Pedersen ordered Ezequiel Hernandez, 28, released Monday pending trial. Hernandez is charged with first-degree attempted murder in a stabbing from the early morning hours Friday that left a man suffering severe wounds to the abdomen. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison or an extended sentence up to 60.

Authorities said the victim, whose grisly injuries were described in detail in court records, required surgery.

In his ruling, Pedersen said he found Hernandez posed a threat to the victim and community at large, citing the stabbing’s circumstances described by DeKalb police in court records. Police allege the stabbing came during a fight between two parties after they left Lord Stanley’s Bar about 2 a.m. Friday.

“But based on the statute, the court is required to release the defendant if there are less restrictive conditions that could mitigate the real and present threat to safety of persons or the community,” Pedersen said.

Monday’s ruling is an example of how pretrial hearings have evolved in Illinois under the Pretrial Fairness Act, sometimes known as the SAFE-T Act.

It’s been about a year since SAFE-T Act went into effect. The law eliminated cash bail in Illinois. In its place, the SAFE-T Act requires prosecutors and judges to review three components of a person’s case in order to make a judgment on whether they’ll be detained pending trial or released: whether there’s enough evidence to support the charges, if a defendant’s release would endanger the public or victims; and if rules could be ordered to mitigate that threat if released.

Under the SAFE-T Act, crimes fall into detainable and non-detainable categories. Violent crimes, including attempted murder, are detainable. Prosecutors must prove that no stipulations a judge could order – confining someone to their home with a GPS ankle bracelet, prohibiting contact with victims, ordering the surrender of firearms and prohibiting someone from driving or leaving the state – would mitigate the threat if released.

Pedersen said prosecutors in Monday’s hearing failed to prove that any threat from Hernandez’s release could not be mitigated by ordering stipulations. Hernandez does not have a violent criminal history or a history of skipping court dates, Pedersen said.

In his ruling, Pedersen also ordered Hernandez to be placed on an electronic monitoring bracelet, which is monitored by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office. He’s prohibited from contacting the victim and must surrender any firearms, ammunition or FOID cards he has.

His defense attorney, Chip Criswell of the DeKalb County Public Defender’s Office, argued that the stabbing was a bar fight gone bad. Criswell argued that prosecutors didn’t have enough evidence to say that Hernandez sought to kill the victim.

Prosecutor Joseph Hodder of the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office argued for Hernandez’s detainment, pointing to the severity of the victim’s wounds and that Hernandez allegedly had a knife on him at the time of the attack.

Chief David Byrd previously said police have not yet determined a motive.

A witness told police that the victim and multiple other people got into a fight, which ended when the man was stabbed. The witness told police that Hernandez allegedly fled the scene of the stabbing in a red vehicle. Police found that vehicle with multiple people inside in the 200 block of North Fourth Street. Officers saw blood inside the vehicle, authorities said.

The witness identified Hernandez and multiple other people who they alleged were involved in the stabbing. A witness told police he “heard Hernandez say that he thought he stabbed” the victim,” police wrote in court records. Police said surveillance footage also shows Hernandez “swinging his arm” near where the victim was stabbed.

Hernandez next is expected to appear for a status hearing at 2 p.m. Oct. 17.