(Kenosha County Sheriff)
KENOSHA, Wis. — A 25-year-old Waukegan man is facing five criminal charges after allegedly assaulting the mother of his children in front of a Kwik Trip store, throwing her to the ground and attempting to hit her with his vehicle, all while the couple’s two young children were present.
Deandre E. James was formally charged in Kenosha County Circuit Court on Monday with first-degree recklessly endangering safety (domestic abuse), battery (domestic abuse), disorderly conduct (domestic abuse), criminal damage to property (domestic abuse), and possession of THC. Court Commissioner William Michel II ordered $7,500 cash bail. A preliminary hearing is set for July 29.
The charges stem from a July 21 incident in the parking lot of Kwik Trip on 75th Street in Pleasant Prairie. According to a criminal complaint, the woman told police she picked James up from work and he became upset about the gas level in her vehicle. The argument escalated after they stopped at the gas station, where James allegedly grabbed her purse, threw her phone, and then ran it over with the car. She told police he then slammed her to the ground and attempted to hit her with the vehicle as she tried to get back inside.
Both of their children, ages 1 and 2, were in the car during the alleged assault.
A Kwik Trip employee corroborated much of the account, telling police he saw James throw items from the vehicle, reverse and reposition the car several times in an apparent attempt to strike the woman, then forcibly throw her to the ground. The employee said the woman hit her head hard on the door and was taken to an employee area for safety as James fled.
Officers later found James during a traffic stop. Police say he was argumentative and initially resisted being secured in a squad car. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of six grams of marijuana, which tested positive for THC.
The woman was treated at Froedtert South Hospital and chose to enforce the 72-hour no-contact provision. Officers documented damage to her iPhone, which they described as “beyond repair.”
James remains in custody at the Kenosha County Jail. If convicted on all counts, he faces more than 13 years in prison.
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