Joliet woman convicted of threatening a witness

in

August 16

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced that jury on Wednesday found a Joliet woman guilty of threatening to kill a witness who had testified against her during an eviction hearing.

Addie Holmes, 39, was convicted on one count of harassment of a witness, a Class 2 Felony that carries a possible prison sentence of up to seven years.

Holmes threatened the victim twice following an eviction hearing on April 17 at the Will County Courthouse.

Holmes first threatened the victim in a courthouse hallway shortly after a judge ordered her to move out of the Evergreen Terrace apartment complex, where she had been living without the management company’s authorization. About 30 minutes later, Holmes again threatened the victim in a hallway at the Joliet apartment complex.

On both occasions, Holmes threatened to kill the victim for testifying against her during the eviction proceedings. The victim is a woman who is also a tenant at Evergreen Terrace.

“Witnesses are the very bedrock foundation of our system of justice” Glasgow said. “Intimidation and threatening of witnesses can never be tolerated, especially when leveled within the sanctity of the courthouse.  It’s hard to imagine a greater affront to the dignity of the halls of justice than a threat to kill a witness. This office will always come down hard when someone tries to bully or terrorize a witness who has stepped up to the right thing under the law.”

Glasgow credited Assistant State’s Attorneys Dant Foulk and Mark Fleszewski for securing a conviction that should stand as a warning to any defendant who threatens a witness.

“We’re going to take every step necessary to protect all witnesses in order to safeguard the integrity our criminal justice system,” the state’s attorney said.

The victim also testified against Holmes during her criminal trial. She told jurors she feared for her life after Holmes threatened her the second time. She filed a report regarding the threats with the Joliet Police Department.

Holmes is scheduled to be sentenced before Circuit Judge Daniel Rozak on Sept. 25.