Man pleads not guilty to upgraded attempted first-degree murder in Lake in the Hills stabbing

A 19-year-old man pleaded not guilty Monday to the attempted first-degree murder of a relative he is accused of stabbing in the back in a Lake in the Hills home.

Anthony J. Bielecki, held on $500,000 bond in the McHenry County jail, also pleaded not guilty to two counts of aggravated domestic battery causing great bodily harm, Class 2 felonies, and aggravated battery with the use of a deadly weapon, a Class 3 felony.

When first arrested, the initial criminal complaint did not include the more serious Class X felony of attempted first-degree murder. If convicted on this charge, he faces between six and 30 years in prison, to be served at 85%; three years of mandatory supervised release; and up to $25,000 in fines, Judge James Cowlin said during his arraignment Monday.

According to an order of protection, the relative was attempting to walk passed Bielecki to walk down the stairs of her home when she felt a sharp pain in her upper right side of her back. She ran outside the home where a passerby called 911, according to the order of protection.

The relative suffered a collapsed lung as a result of the alleged stabbing, according to charging documents filed in the McHenry County courthouse.

Bielecki, who at the time of his arrest police said lived in Arlington Heights, is listed in McHenry County court documents as living in the Lake in the Hills home where the incident occurred. According to the order of protection, he was visiting the residence at the time of the alleged incident.

Bielecki is accused of taking a “substantial step towards the commission” of attempted first-degree murder “with the intent to kill” the relative on the afternoon of Aug. 13 in a home in the 600 block of Loree Lane, according to the criminal complaint filed in the McHenry County courthouse.

The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District took the person who was stabbed to Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital, police said.

When police arrived at the home, officers secured the exterior of the residence, where Bielecki was inside. Police said Bielecki surrendered without further incident.

He must post 10%, or $50,000, to be released. Bielecki is being represented by Arthur Porto, who declined to comment on the case Monday, and is due next in court Oct. 24.