McHenry man sentenced to 10 years for arson, aggravated abuse with deadly weapon

A 26-year-old McHenry man facing attempted murder charges was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday after entering a negotiated guilty plea to residential arson and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

The aggravated battery charge against Alexander Campos alleges he stabbed a woman on Dec. 11, 2021, and then set the house on fire, according to the indictment filed in McHenry County courthouse.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the attempted murder charge as well as unlawful restraint and four counts of domestic battery, court records show. Had he been convicted of attempted murder, he could have faced 30 years in prison.

Campos was also sentenced to four years, to be served at the same time as the 10-year sentence, for the aggravated battery and must pay $1,245.65 in fees and fines, according to court documents filed in McHenry County courthouse.

Campos had sought a fitness evaluation in March, a request that had been granted by McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge. That evaluation was done but not filed, said his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Rick Behof Wednesday declining to comment further.

Campos has a “background of suffering from mental health issues in the past,” according to the motion seeking the evaluation.

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.

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.

He pleaded guilty Wednesday to domestic battery in that case and was sentenced to two years of probation, court records show.

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.