DeKalb man facing hate crime charges in 2019 Hopkins Park stabbing now charged with burglary in unrelated incident

SYCAMORE – A DeKalb man facing ongoing hate crime charges related to a 2019 stabbing incident at Hopkins Park now is charged with burglary after a Monday arrest, although the incidents do not appear to be related in any manner.

Jeremy C. Lloyd, 20, of the 1400 block of West Lincoln Highway in DeKalb, was arrested by DeKalb County Sheriff’s deputies Monday and charged with burglary. He appeared before DeKalb County Circuit Court Judge Phillip Montgomery on Monday for a virtual bond hearing on the burglary charge, and was released on a $5,000 recognizance bond.

According to DeKalb County court records, a DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office deputy was dispatched to a home in the 100 block of North Pine Street in Waterman for a possible burglary around 5 a.m. Monday. Deputies were provided the description of a vehicle possibly involved, which they located at the intersection of North Pine Street and McKinley in Waterman, documents allege. The vehicle was driven by Lloyd, reports state.

During interviews, the alleged victim told deputies Lloyd, who he knew, did not have permission to be on his property or take the items which were reported stolen. Early Monday morning, the victim’s dog woke him up by barking, he told police, and discovered Lloyd allegedly removing items that were not his from the garage and placing them in the car.

Lloyd was charged with burglary, a Class 2 felony, and arrested. If convicted, he could face up to seven years in jail or fines up to $25,000.

He’s next set to appear at 10 a.m. Tuesday in front of DeKalb County Circuit Court Judge Robbin Stuckert for another virtual hearing related to different charges stemming from a June 2019 stabbing incident in Hopkins Park in DeKalb, for which he’s charged with hate crime, also a felony.

Lloyd, who was 18 at the time, was initially also charged with multiple counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in the 2019 incident, during which three teenage boys were wounded, two of them hospitalized, and one, who was 15 at the time, requiring surgery for a slash wound which cut his knee to the bone. Prosecutors initially said the wounds were at the hands of Lloyd and a knife. Those battery charges were dropped in June of 2019, however, with DeKalb County prosecutors instead asking that Lloyd be charged with a hate crime. Authorities say Lloyd, who is white, repeatedly referred to the victims, Black boys, in the fight using a racial slur.

Video of the alleged hate crime outside Hopkins Pool on June 5, 2019, showed Lloyd and a girl walking away from a group of boys just before a fight broke out and one of the boys punched Lloyd, resulting in a scuffle during which Lloyd allegedly pulled out a knife and three boys received stab wounds.

If convicted of the hate crime, Lloyd could face 2 to 5 years in prison.

The Hopkins Park incident charges have stalled in court since 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic halting many court proceedings in DeKalb County as mitigations were initiated to limit crowds and community spread of the virus.