ISLAND LAKE, Ill. – A man from Island Lake, Illinois, was arrested on multiple charges, including striking a police animal, after fleeing from a hospital where he had been brought for treatment following an arrest for aggravated domestic battery.
On Sunday, December 31, 2023, at approximately 5:20 a.m., Lake County Sheriff’s Deputies, along with K9 Dax and Deputy Forlenza, were dispatched to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in the 400 block of Route 22 in unincorporated Barrington. The deputies were responding to a report of a male adult who had fled from the hospital while under arrest for aggravated domestic battery.
Earlier that morning, Jaime C. Romero, 51, was arrested by a local police department for strangling and battering his girlfriend. He also had an active arrest warrant from Kane County. Romero was transported to the hospital for treatment after being arrested. While being moved inside the hospital for treatment, he fled on foot, prompting a response from the sheriff’s office and K9 Dax.
K9 Dax and Deputy Forlenza tracked Romero to an orthopedic doctor’s office, where they found an open door. After refusing to surrender, Romero was located inside the office and was bitten by K9 Dax. Romero punched the K9 before being taken into custody by sheriff’s deputies. He was later evaluated for the dog bite to his leg and transported to the Lake County Jail.
Romero was charged with two counts of aggravated domestic battery, striking a police animal, resisting arrest, and criminal trespass to a building. K9 Dax, the police animal, was evaluated by a veterinarian and cleared to return to service.
Jaime Romero appeared in 1st Appearance Court and was ordered held pending a detention hearing on January 2, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.