Prosecutor details 3-day captivity, beatings in Cahokia Heights apartment

A St. Clair County prosecutor on Thursday laid out the case against a man accused of beating his girlfriend and her son while holding them captive for three days in a Cahokia Heights apartment building.

The defense attorney countered that there is little evidence to support the seven crimes with which Johnny J. Turner Jr. has been charged.

Turner, 28, was charged Wednesday in St. Clair County Court with five felony counts — the most serious being a Class X offense of aggravated kidnapping with a firearm — and two misdemeanors. During a hearing Thursday, Judge Jeff Watson ordered Turner held at the county jail until trial.

On Monday morning, Cahokia Heights police received a 911 call from Thrifty Hardware and Home Center on Jerome Lane, according to Chief Thomas Trice. A 19-year-old man had just come from an apartment across the street, where he said he and his mother were held against their will and beaten for three days.

Turner was identified as the suspect.

Charging documents say Turner and the female victim were related, but Trice said the two were in a short-term relationship at the time of the incident. Turner’s attorney, Thomas Philo, said in court that it appeared they did not have a long relationship and their connection seemed to be drug-related.

Prosecutor Jarren Fulcher said at Thursday’s hearing that Turner held the victims at gunpoint, beat them repeatedly, took their cellphones and at one point strangled the woman until she passed out and gave her a black eye.

Fulcher also said that Turner had sent the young man — who Trice said had a mental disability — out to get him drugs. A 5½-hour standoff with police ensued, Trice said. Fulcher said Turner was unarmed when he surrendered.

The woman was found with a shoelace around one of her legs — indicating that her legs were probably tied together — in a linen closet with a blanket over her, Fulcher said. Trice said law enforcement did not locate any handguns at the scene, but investigators found several items that appeared to be used as weapons, including broom handles and pipes.

“This is something that you see in movies and TV shows and think, ‘There’s no way that could really happen,’” Fulcher said.

Turner’s lawyer, Tom Philo, said the woman had “begged” Turner not to surrender because she feared she would be apprehended on an active felony warrant.

Philo also stressed that no guns or cellphones were recovered and that the son had been able to go in and out of the apartment. The woman had said in her statement that she had not seen Turner with a gun in days, Philo said.

“(Those accusations) were refuted by the victim herself,” Philo said.

In a rebuttal, Fulcher said the son had described the gun and bullets Turner had allegedly shown the victims in vivid detail.

Philo asked that his client be released on an electronic monitor, which Judge Watson denied.

Turner whispered to his attorney occasionally at Thursday’s proceeding. At one point, Turner started to talk louder, possibly to contest what Fulcher was saying. Watson reminded Turner of his right to remain silent — which Turner said he was not told about before — and said anything Turner would say would hurt his case.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, support is available. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233. Belleville’s Violence Prevention Center’s 24-hour crisis line is 618-235-0892.

This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 5:30 AM.