Joliet Strangling Victim Told 'You Don't Think I Can Break Your Neck?' Prosecutors Tell Judge Ewanic

JOLIET, IL —A 25-year-old Joliet man accused of trying to strangle a woman who vowed to leave him has returned to his community following this week's SAFE-T-Act detention hearing before Will County Judge Derek Ewanic.

The Will County State's Attorney's Office charged Lorenzo Figueroa with aggravated domestic battery and four crimes of domestic battery following his Joliet police arrest Nov. 9.

Figueroa is accused of grabbing the woman about her neck, throwing a chair at her and striking her body, pushing her and trying to strangle her, the criminal complaint outlined

The prosecution filed a petition to deny pretrial release for Figueroa under the SAFE-T-Act, but after hearing the evidence, Judge Ewanic ordered the young Joliet man's release from Will County Jail's.

Figueroa was let out of jail around supper time Monday.

According to the prosecution's filing, at around 8 a.m. Sunday, Joliet police responded to Figueroa's house in the 500 block of Emmett for a domestic disturbance. The officer heard a woman and a man yelling inside; the woman was yelling for the man to get off her.

After Joliet police knocked on the door, the victim was visibly upset and told the police to take Figueroa away. The woman had scratch marks in the center of her neck, court files show.

Prosecutors noted that Figueroa was also upset; he did not want the victim to take their 4-month-old old from his house "because he was afraid he would never see him again."

The victim told Joliet police she and Figueroa have lived together for over a year and have a child in common. The victim had asked Figueroa to watch their child so she could shower, and Figueroa threw a teething toy and told her to give it to their child, which prompted an argument, prosecutors told Ewanic.

After the victim told Figueroa their relationship was over and she was leaving, Figueroa threw the child's bouncy chair at her in the kitchen, hitting her in the chest, court files allege. Then in the living room, Figueroa pushed her into a chair and began to choke her with both of his hands around her neck, prosecutors outlined.

Figueroa told his victim how he was "two of her," saying, "you don't think I can break your neck?," prosecutors allege. The victim had trouble breathing and feared passing out, she told police. Even though she got away, officials say Figueroa caught her on the couch, where the baby was. As he put both of his hands around her neck, a cushion fell from the couch and the mother feared the cushion would suffocate their child, court documents allege.

When Figueroa was interviewed by Joliet police, he said they were arguing and he grabbed her, but that was it, according to officials. When asked about the marks on her neck, he told the police he did that, prosecutors noted.