McHenry man charged with attempted murder, arson seeks mental health evaluation

Firefighters from the McHenry Township Fire Protection District respond to a house fire Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in the 500 block of Sunrise Drive in unincorporated McHenry County near Johnsburg. Inset: Alexander P. Campos.

A McHenry County judge granted the request of a 26-year-old McHenry man accused of stabbing his girlfriend then allegedly setting the house on fire to undergo an evaluation to determine his mental health at the time of the incident.

Alexander Campos is charged with attempted first-degree murder, residential arson, aggravated battery using a deadly weapon, unlawful restraint and four counts of domestic battery, according to an indictment filed at the McHenry County courthouse.

The most serious of the charges – attempted murder – is a Class X felony, which typically carry a sentence of six to 30 years in prison. Campos has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

According to the motion filed in court Wednesday, Campos has a ”background of suffering from mental health issues in the past.”

At 9:40 p.m. Dec. 11, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office was called to a home in the 500 block of Sunrise Drive outside Johnsburg for a reported domestic battery, according to a news release at the time. When officers arrived, they found a woman who said she was stabbed.

Firefighters from the McHenry Township Fire Protection District respond to a house fire Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in the 500 block of Sunrise Drive in unincorporated McHenry County near Johnsburg.

The woman was stabbed in the chest, according to the indictment.

At the time of the incident, Campos was facing charges of aggravated battery to a police officer. Campos was accused of spitting on a Johnsburg officer, according to a criminal complaint filed by the sheriff’s office. He also was charged with domestic battery.

Campos previously was charged with aggravated battery after stabbing a man in a Spring Grove home in 2015, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said at the time. He was sentenced to two years in prison, Lake County court records show.

Campos also was sentenced to 90 days in jail in 2019 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon during an incident in which he threatened to a kill another man with a knife, according to McHenry County court records.

In 2020, he was arrested in connection with driving under the influence of alcohol and child endangerment after he crashed his car with a 7-year-old child passenger. Campos was sentenced to two years of court supervision and 100 hours of public service in connection with that incident, court records show.

He is due back in court for a status hearing April 26.