Braidwood Motel Unlawful Restraint Arrest, Man, 30, Spit On Police Officer's Face: Prosecutor

BRAIDWOOD, IL — A 30-year-old Glendale Heights man became one of the first new inmates to enter the Will County Jail in 2026 and Hugo Sanchez-Cervantez will remain incarcerated, under the SAFE-T-Act, in connection with allegations he harmed a woman staying at the Braidwood Motel near downtown Braidwood.

Braidwood police arrested Sanchez on New Year's Day, and the Will County State's Attorney's Office has charged him with aggravated battery, unlawful restraint and domestic battery. The Braidwood Motel is located at 120 N. Washington St.

According to his criminal complaint, Sanchez is accused of detaining a woman inside Room 11, pushing the woman's body and later spitting on the face of a Braidwood police officer.

Will County's prosecutors were successful in their petition to keep Sanchez detained in the Will County Jail. Court records indicate that at 3:31 a.m. on New Year's Day, Braidwood officers Sterba and Gastelum responded to the Braidwood Motel for a domestic. The victim told 911 dispatchers that she was at the motel in an unknown room and involved in a domestic incident, but she could not provide the details because someone was listening.

She told dispatchers that a man was blocking her door and she could not open it. The Braidwood officers showed up at the motel and visited several rooms before realizing the call came from Room 11. That's when officials say the woman came to the window and told the officers she could not open the door. As for Sanchez, he cracked open the door, but would not open it for the police, court files show.

The Braidwood police barged into the room and Sanchez became aggressive and yelled, according to prosecutors.

"Officers had to pull their Taser but were ultimately able to get the defendant in cuffs without the use of a taser. The defendant fought officers while being escorted to the squad vehicle causing Officer Sterba's molle-mounted tourniquet to break off of his vest and snapped the plastic. Officer Gastelum also suffered damage to his vest's button," prosecutors outlined.

While at the patrol vehicle, Sanchez spit on one of the officers, who "could feel the wet saliva and had to wipe it off his face with his glove," prosecutors noted.

As for the victim, she told Braidwood police she "had been involved in a verbal domestic situation with the defendant and when she tried to leave the room due to feeling unsafe, the defendant stood in front of doorway with a chair to prevent her from leaving, then pushed (her) onto the bed. (She) hid in the bathroom to call 911," court documents indicate.

Prosecutors revealed that the woman had her 6-week-old newborn baby present during the incident at the Braidwood Motel. As for Sanchez, he had three active warrants out for his arrest, including in Lake County and Cook County.

"The defendant complained of injury and was transported to St. Joseph's Hospital where he continued to have angry outbursts. He stated during a prior incarceration incident he stabbed someone. He threatened the medical staff and threatened to fight people in the Will County Adult Detention Facility," court records show.

Regarding his criminal history, Sanchez had a May 2024 domestic battery case in Cook County and a 2023 aggravated battery to a police officer in Cook County. He drew a one-year sentence to the Illinois Department of Corrections for 2017 crimes involving aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated fleeing and eluding the police, also in Cook County. He had a 2015 disorderly conduct, also in Cook County.