A man awaiting trial on charges that he threatened to shoot Barrington Hills police officers is now accused of threatening to harm a McHenry County judge and probation officer.
Joel A. Koskinen, 36, of Barrington Hills, is charged with threatening public officials, a Class 3 felony, and harassment through electronic communications involving threats to kill, Class 4 felony, according to the McHenry County jail and a judge who was brought in from outside the county, 23rd Judicial Circuit County Judge Philip Montgomery. The circuit hears cases in DeKalb and Kendall counties.
Montgomery, who appeared via Zoom, was assigned Friday to hear the case due to the apparent conflict of interest. The judge said Barrett Mays was appointed as special assistant public defender.
Because Montgomery and Mays learned just Friday that they are going to handle the case, Montgomery postponed Koskinen’s detention hearing, to determine if he will be held while awaiting trial, to Tuesday morning. The judge said Mays also needed time to meet with Koskinen, who is in the county jail.
On Tuesday, the state will argue Koskinen should remain in jail pretrial, and prosecutors are also seeking to have his pretrial release from the earlier case revoked.
Because the hearing is being continued, few details were provided during a brief hearing Friday.
The judge read Koskinen the current charges against him and said he is accused of emailing a link to a probation officer that took her to a video in which Koskinen is allegedly threatening her. He also is accused of threatening a judge, and as in his 2025 case, threatening to kill Barrington Hills police.
He was charged in the prior case on June 23, 2025, with threatening a public official and with electronic harassment involving a threat to kill. He is accused in that case of threatening Barrington Hills police officers on YouTube videos, according to court testimony and documents.
Koskinen allegedly posted a video “containing a threat to shoot [an officer] in the head,” according to a criminal complaint. He also is accused of saying: “I will now kill every cop in Barrington Hills Police Department.”
In September, he was found to be unfit for trial. In December, after receiving mental health treatment while in custody of the Illinois Department of Human Service Lake Behavioral Hospital, a judge ruled Koskinen had been restored to fitness, documents show.
In April, he was released from the county jail and accepted into the county’s mental health court.
Koskinen’s former attorney, Brian Stevens, said he is “very surprised” to learn of the new charges. Koskinen had read through the mental health manual “cover to cover” and was excited to be involved in the program.
“He was benefitting from mental health court,” Stevens said.
Had Koskinen successfully completed the program, the 2025 case would have been dismissed.
“Everybody wanted him to do well,” the attorney said.