An Ogle County judge found a Rochelle man guilty of domestic battery Wednesday after hearing testimony about how an early morning argument over a Popsicle led to a headbutt, an arrest, and a series of phone calls from the defendant to the victim urging her to change her story as to what happened.

Ceczar Spann, 31, Rochelle, was found guilty of two counts of domestic battery for striking a member of his household during a Sept. 12, 2025, incident in their apartment in the 1200 block of Sunnnymeade Drive.

During the afternoon bench trial, Ogle County Judge John “Ben” Roe heard conflicting testimony from the victim, who originally told Rochelle police that Spann had hit her and then headbutted her during an early morning argument.

But the woman, subpoenaed by Assistant State’s Attorney Heather Kruse, testified that she and Spann started arguing over her eating a Popsicle instead of “cuddling” with him when she returned home around 4 a.m. after work.

She said she was upset that Spann had eaten some of her Popsicles and called 911 because she had been drinking alcohol. She denied Spann hit her, causing her nose to bleed.

“I said it, but it didn’t happen. I am prone to bloody noses,” she testified.

Under cross examination by Spann’s attorney, Assistant Ogle County Public Defender Brendan Gecan, the woman said she was “tipsy” from consuming two alcoholic drinks when she arrived home and only called 911 to get Spann – who was on parole – to leave the apartment.

“I had a lot going on,” she testified. “I over exaggerated.”

But Rochelle police officer Tyler Woolbright testified that when he responded to the scene, the woman was bleeding and said she had been struck twice by Spann and then headbutted by him, causing her nose to bleed.

Woolbright said she did not appear to be intoxicated, had a bruise on her cheek and blood coming from her nose.

“She was very upset and was crying,” Woolbright testified. “She said, ‘He [Spann] headbutted me.’”

On footage from Woolbright’s body camera, shown during the trial, the woman told police Spann had headbutted her after they argued. She said she called 911 and told Spann to leave.

Woolbright said Spann was not at the apartment when they arrived at 5:36 a.m., but was found near the apartment hiding in a bathroom at a hotel.

Spann has been held in the Ogle County Jail in Oregon since his arrest.

Kruse then played a series of phone calls Spann made to the woman from the jail following the Sept. 12 incident. Collect calls made by inmates list the name of the inmate calling and include a notification that the calls are “subject to recording”.

In those calls, Spann can be heard telling the woman not to show up for court. In one of the calls he said, “I am trying to beat this so I don’t have to go back to prison.”

“All you had to do was not hit me,” the woman can be heard saying in one of the calls. “I don’t know how I am supposed to help you”, to which Spann replies, “all you gotta do is not show up”.

In one of the other 20 calls played by Kruse at the trial, Spann instructs the woman to call the state’s attorney’s office and say she wants the charges dropped, call the parole board and tell them the incident did not happen, tells her he’s sorry about hitting her, and tells her to blame her injuries on a fall or an accident at work.

“All you have to say is you fell. He didn’t do that to me,” Spann said in one of the phone calls. “I’m sorry. I just want to go home. If I wasn’t such a ....up I’d be home in a warm bed.”

In another call he promises the woman he will never hurt her again if released and he does not deserve to be sent to prison for this offense and for violating his parole.

“You need to say you fabricated this whole thing and I did nothing,” Spann says in one of the calls.

The week before the trial, Spann instructs the woman in yet another phone call to say she was intoxicated the night of the incident and gets bloody noses regularly.

Gecan called the woman to testify as the defense’s only witness. She testified that she never wanted charges to be filed against Spann and she just wanted him to leave the apartment. She denied that the phone calls led her to change her recollection of the incident.

After an objection made by Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock that the woman was close to incriminating herself, Roe paused her testimony and asked her if she wanted to consult with an attorney before proceeding. He told the woman that she had the right to remain silent and he would appoint an attorney to speak to her if that was her wish.

Ogle County Public Defender Kathleen Isley met with the woman and told the court that she had given the woman recommendations on how to proceed.

When called back to the witness stand, the woman invoked her Fifth Amendment privilege in order to avoid incriminating herself.

She said she only wanted Spann to leave the apartment and wanted those wishes to be heard clearly.

Spann declined to testify after telling Roe he only wanted to talk to him, “I want to talk to you. I have never had a chance just to talk to you,” Spann said.

Roe instructed Spann that anything he wanted to say at the trial should be done through his attorney or by being sworn in and testifying, which would then allow prosecutors to cross examine him.

In her closing argument, Kruse said there was “overwhelming evidence” to show that Spann was guilty of the charges.

“This is not a ‘whodunit,’” Kruse said. “He headbutted her and she had a bleeding injury. She made statements to the police that are on the body camera. The testimony she gave on the scene was the truth, not what was given today.”

Kruse said some of the the calls Spann made to the woman were on Sept. 12, 13 and 14 while she was still emotionally upset by the battery.

“He does not want her to testify because he did this,” Kruse said. “He never tells her to come to court and tell the truth. He told her just last week to say she was intoxicated.

“It’s outrageous, but not surprising she testified the way she did today,” Kruse said.

Gecan said the couple had many more phone calls since the Sept. 12 incident than the ones played at the trial.

“It’s clear the ‘victim’ lied,” Gecan said. “She was very upset with her romantic partner. She wanted him gone for the night and she knew she could do it because he was on parole. He didn’t flee the scene. He went to work.”

Roe found Spann guilty of both offenses.

“I believe the statement she made to police that morning as to what happened,” Roe said in rendering his verdict.

He ordered a pre-sentence investigation be conducted on Spann and set his sentencing hearing for 1:30 p.m. April 15.

Because of Spann’s 2020 conviction in Lee County for aggravated domestic battery, he is eligible to be sentenced to 1 to 6 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.