A Poplar Grove man pleaded guilty Monday to slashing an opponent’s cheek over a pool game in a Harvard bar.

Michael A. Schallmoser, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery causing bodily harm, a Class 3 felony, and was sentenced to four years in prison, according to the judgment order filed in McHenry County court.

He is required to serve half his prison time followed by six months mandatory supervised release, according to the order.

About 1 a.m. on Feb. 2, 2024, police responded to the Front Street Tap at 106 East Front St. for a report of two men fighting and one having been “stabbed in the face with a knife,” according to a Harvard police news release at the time.

When officers separated Schallmoser and the other man, who were still brawling when they arrived, police found the victim had a “severe laceration to his face,” authorities said.

Prosecutors said during Schallmoser’s initial court appearance that the victim suffered a 6-inch slash to his cheek. Schallmoser had “superficial facial injuries,” police said. An assistant public defender pushed back during the hearing, saying the other man had lunged at Schallmoser during the fight.

However, Assistant State’s Attorney Brian Miller described Schallmoser as “a loose cannon who has committed violent acts against numerous people throughout his life.”

At the time of his arrest in Harvard, Schallmoser was on pretrial release on pending misdemeanor battery and disorderly charges in Boone County, according to Miller and Boone County court records. But those charges have since been dismissed, records show.

Schallmoser also was convicted of domestic battery in 2012 and received probation in that case, Miller said. In 2018, Schallmoser pleaded guilty to aggravated domestic battery with attempted strangulation and was sentenced to five years in prison; he was released in 2023 and on parole at the time of the Harvard bar fight, the prosecutor said.

After his arrest in Harvard, local police said, a parole violation warrant was issued for Schallmoser by the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Schallmoser has been detained in the county jail since his arrest, for which he is receiving 550 days’ credit toward his prison term, records show. In exchange for his guilty plea, additional counts of aggravated battery were dismissed, records show.