'She Felt Like She Was Going To Die': Crest Hill Police Arrest Man

CREST HILL — A 32-year-old New Lenox resident has been denied pretrial release by Will County Judge Derek Ewanic in connection with his weekend arrest by Crest Hill police on allegations he tried to suffocate a woman, causing her to lose vision in one of her eyes, according to court documents.

Gregory Podobnik was booked into the Will County Jail around 5 a.m. Saturday and now that his pretrial release was denied, he will remain in the jail indefinitely. Podobnik was charged with two counts of aggravated domestic battery and four counts of domestic battery.

According to the prosecution's petition to deny pretrial release, Crest Hill police responded to the 1800 block of Marlboro Lane around 1 a.m. and then again at 2:07 a.m. During the first police contact, the victim told the officers that she and Podobnik were arguing, and he kicked the bedroom door in and pushed her, court files say. At that time, she believed he would leave and stay with his family members in New Lenox.

During the 2:07 a.m. police call, court documents note that the officers learned that Podobnik had returned to the Crest Hill location and threw a toy at the woman. The argument continued, and he pulled her off the bed and started choking her, court files say. She felt his thumbs going into the base of her neck and she could not breathe. She felt she was going to die, prosecutors told the judge.

Podobnik then hit the woman in the eye with his elbow, and she lost vision from that eye, court files say. The woman then hit Podobnik in the groin and ran from her residence, according to the file.

Prosecutors say Podobnik was chasing after her when the paramedics arrived. Court files note that the woman had red marks on her neck, and she could not see out of her swollen eye when the Crest Hill police arrived.

As for Podobnik, he had bite marks on his arms and a bloody lip, court files indicate. He denied hitting the Crest Hill woman and claimed he did not know how she hurt her eye. He still has pending criminal charges in Will County from 2024 and 2023, both involving possession of controlled substances.

"He has multiple felony drug related convictions," prosecutor Steven Platek wrote.

Jail logs list Podobnik as residing in the 22500 block of South Country Lane in New Lenox. He was in the jail twice in 2024 and once in 2023.