Court records: Rock Falls man accused of strangling woman, fracturing her neck

MORRISON — A Rock Falls man has been charged with two counts of aggravated battery, one of which accuses him of causing great bodily harm.

Carlos T. Loyola, 27, is charged in Whiteside County with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and aggravated domestic battery. Those charges, filed May 15, 2025, accuse him of strangling a woman the day before and fracturing her cervical vertebrae.

According to court records, Loyola was denied pretrial release May 15. According to that petition, prosecutors said the woman had suffered two black eyes, Loyola had threatened to kill her and he had previously violated a no-contact order.

A defendant’s criminal history also is taken into consideration at a detention hearing. Court records indicate Loyola pleaded guilty June 16, 2022, to one count of possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to three years in state prison. He also pleaded guilty in that same case to possession of a firearm without the requisite firearm owners identification card and sentenced to 180 days in jail. A second count of possession of a controlled substance was dismissed as part of a plea deal. Those three charges were filed Sept. 12, 2021.

He also pleaded guilty that same day to a Sept. 12, 2021, theft charge and was sentenced to three years in prison. A second theft charge was dismissed.

Also dismissed that day as part of the plea deal were all eight charges filed in an August 2020 case accusing him of three counts of possessing a stolen weapon, one of which was an AR15 pistol; three counts of theft; and two counts of possessing weapons without a FOID card.

A March 30, 2022, charge of aggravated battery also was dismissed that day, as was an April 21, 2021, charge of violation of an order of protection and a 2019 charge of obstructing gas, water or electric current meters. He did plead guilty to an April 9, 2021, charge of violation of a protective order and was sentenced to 180 days in jail.

His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing set for 1:30 p.m. June 2.