An Effingham man is behind bars today without bond, after police say he attacked someone with a machete on Sunday afternoon. The subject went on to barricade himself in a basement for nearly two hours when officers arrived.
The incident was reported around 5 p.m. in the area of 4th Street and Washington Avenue in Effingham. When officers got to the scene, they found one victim with minor injuries and a young child still on the main floor of the home. Officers were able to get the child out safely before turning their attention to the suspect, who had retreated to the basement and was refusing to come out upon command.
What followed was a roughly two-hour standoff. Additional law enforcement agencies were called in to assist, and officers eventually obtained a search warrant to gain access to the home. Before it could be served, 39-year-old William R. Allen agreed to comply and surrendered without incident. He was taken to HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital for an evaluation before being booked into the Effingham County Jail.
Allen now faces three charges: aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, a Class 3 felony; domestic battery with previous convictions, a Class 4 felony; and obstruction of a police officer, which is a Class A misdemeanor.
At a detention hearing Monday, Judge Bryan M. Kibler ordered Allen to remain in custody without pretrial release. The court found that Allen poses a threat to both the victim and the community at large, noting that he has multiple prior domestic battery convictions. Perhaps most notably, Allen allegedly committed these offenses while already on probation for a felony in Coles County and is on pre-trial release for a felony charge in Sangamon County.
Allen is due back in court on June 18th.
All subjects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
