Crime & Safety
Man Bashed in Car Windows, Injured Year-Old Girl: Police
Juan Mendoza was apparently retaliating against the child's mother, whom he believed had called the police on him about a different incident, Joliet police said.
A Joliet teen who shattered a woman’s car windows with a baseball bat, injuring her year-old daughter inside, was arrested Friday on four counts of aggravated battery, Joliet police said.
Juan C. Mendoza, 17, of 410 N. Eastern Ave., reportedly approached the woman’s car while she was parked at Calderon Liquors, 741 Collins St., on May 8 and yelled that he knew she had called the police on him, apparently referring to a previous incident that the woman denies happened, Capt. Tab Jensen said. After damaging her car, he fled on foot, he said.
Glass cut the woman’s daughter's eye, and the child had to be transported to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox for treatment, Jensen said.
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Police interviewed the woman, who said she knew Mendoza as a neighbor who lived on her block. Based on her testimony and other evidence, a warrant was issued and Mendoza arrested Friday night, Jensen said.
Mendoza is being held in the Will County jail in lieu of $50,000 bond.
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According to Will County Circuit Clerk records, Mendoza was previously arrested in March for driving without being issued a license.
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