One arrested after man stabbed in chest near Belleville, investigator says
A Belleville area man was charged Monday in connection with the stabbing of a 68-year-old who was wounded in his chest and hand in unincorporated Belleville.
Alexander R. Sims, 33, faces charges of attempted murder/intent to kill or injure; unlawful restraint; and two counts of domestic battery/other prior in connection with the stabbing on Sunday, according to court records filed by the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The male victim, who suffered two stab wounds in his chest and one a hand, is in “good” condition, according to St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department Chief Investigator Gary Brewer.
Deputies were called at 5:51 p.m. Sunday to the 7500 block of Westchester Drive in unincorporated Belleville near Emge Junior High School when a caller said someone was trying to stab another man.
When deputies arrived, they found the stabbing victim sitting in a vehicle.
The suspect subsequently went into his home, where he held his wife and child, Brewer said.
“Deputies on the scene were able to talk to him to release the wife and the child and eventually he came out and surrendered,” Brewer said.
Brewer said he could not release details of what prompted the dispute before the victim was stabbed. He said the victim is Sims’ aunt’s boyfriend.
Sims was being held in the St. Clair County Jail on Monday.
Court records do not list a defense attorney for Sims and a court date had not yet been set for him.
Prosecutors have filed a petition seeking a detention hearing for Sims.
Illinois judges have been conducting detention hearings since September 2023 for people charged with serious offenses. If a judge considers a person dangerous to the community, the person can be remanded to the county jail until their trial, according to the revamped criminal justice system that eliminated cash bail as part of the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today, or SAFE-T, Act.
