ST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP – A jury convicted a Morris man who skipped his trial for a sucker punch at a Geneva bar and a judge sentenced him to 3 ½ years in prison, according to a news release from Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser.

David A. Hietschold, 43, of the 4200 block of Bargo Lane, Morris, is wanted on an arrest warrant and anyone with information about his location should call Geneva police at 630-232-4736, according to the release.

Hietschold was last seen in court on July 22, 2022. Associate Judge David Kliment issued a warrant for his arrest when he failed to appear for his trial, the release stated.

Hietschold was charged with two counts of felony aggravated battery in a public place, court records show. His trial and sentencing hearing took place despite Hietschold’s absence, according to the release.

Being tried without being present is known as in-absentia – Latin to describe a criminal trial held without the presence of the accused, according to Black’s Law Dictionary.

A jury convicted him on Oct. 4, 2022, the release stated and Kliment sentenced him on Jan. 25, according to court records.

Assistant State’s Attorneys Sarah Norkus and Jessica Michels presented the following evidence in court:

On February 2, 2021, at about 9 p.m., Hietschold was at Third Street Station, a bar in the 300 block of Crescent Place, Geneva.

Unprovoked, he approached the victim from behind and blindsided her with a closed-fist punch to the head that knocked her unconscious.

Hietschold and the victim had not previously met, nor seen each other before the incident. The victim was taken by ambulance to the hospital.

“The victim was enjoying a quiet night out with a group of friends,” Norkus stated in the release.

“She was seated at the opposite end of the bar from Hietschold when he marched over, wound up his arm and knocked her out with a blow to the head,” Norkus stated in the release. “A prison sentence is what Hietschold deserves, especially given his cowardly refusal to face his victim in court and accept responsibility for his actions.”

Norkus thanked Geneva police for their work in this investigation, Michel and victim advocate Linda Hagemann, the release stated.

Hietschold’s attorney, Gary Johnson – who has been a lawyer since 1978 – said a client not showing up for trial has never happened to him before.

“When you have a trial, you have have multiple court dates,” Johnson said. “If a trial starts Monday, on the Wednesday before that, everybody gets together to see if there are any last minute issues or continuances. And he missed that date. We also had a date before that for some motions and he was not there. … So it was not a big surprise that he did not show up for trial.”