Two Rockford men who said they tracked another Rockford man to Rochelle because he had stolen their car after they tried to help a woman have pleaded not guilty to the felony offenses of aggravated battery and mob action.

Darius Foster, 38, and Jordan Clark, 22, both of Rockford, entered their pleas Monday and were released with conditions following Tuesday detention hearings at the Ogle County Judicial Center.

Both are charged with one count of aggravated battery with great bodily harm, which is a Class 3 felony, and mob action, a Class 4 felony. Class 3 felonies are punishable by 2 to 5 years in prison while Class 4 felonies are punishable by 1 to 3 years.

All the charges stem from an 11:30 a.m. June 13 incident that the Rochelle Police Department responded to in the 100 block of North Seventh Avenue.

According to a Rochelle police release, the department received several 911 calls in reference to two vehicles stopped in the roadway with a “physical altercation in progress.”

Officers found one man with several injuries who was transported to a Rochelle hospital.

“During the investigation it was determined that a prior incident had occurred in a different jurisdiction which led to the altercation,” the release said.

On Tuesday, Clark and Foster, who had been held in the Ogle County Jail since their arrests, appeared in court for detention hearings, during which testimony and arguments are made for a judge to determine whether to release a defendant from custody as their case proceeds through the court system.

During both hearings, Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock told Judge Clayton Lindsey that the man was beaten by Clark and Foster and had suffered several brain bleeds, broken teeth, lacerations and other injuries.

Rock said the man was transferred to a Rockford Hospital, but could not be located at that hospital as of Tuesday.

He said Clark and Foster had tracked the vehicle from Rockford, where they claimed it had been stolen. He said both were observed beating the man after they had blocked the vehicle on an overpass and he had been pulled from the vehicle.

“A witness saw them kicking him on the ground on his head. They said they were going to throw him over the bridge if he didn’t give them the keys,” Rock told Lindsey. “They indicated they were going to throw him over and kill him.”

Ogle County Public Defender Kathleen Isley said Clark and Foster were attempting to help a woman in Rockford who was being carjacked on Harrison Avenue in Rockford when their vehicle was stolen.

“They saw a woman being beat up by a man they didn’t know,” Isley said referring to the Rockford incident. “They exited their vehicle to help that woman and when they did that (the man) jumped in their vehicle.”

Isley said Clark and Foster tracked the vehicle to Rochelle, where they stopped it on the overpass.

“This was not a random act of violence,” Isley said. “They did not seek this person out randomly.”

Rock said Foster should not be released from custody, arguing that Foster told police he “probably went overboard” because the incident “happened so fast.” And he argued Foster be detained due to his past criminal history.

Isley acknowledged that Foster had a criminal history, but had scored low on a risk assessment test and has not had any criminal cases filed against him since 2017.

“Despite his criminal history when he was younger, he has been a law-abiding citizen,” Isley argued.

Rock said Clark had participated in “hunting” the man down and beating him.

Isley said Clark had no criminal history and had cooperated with police. She said since the alleged victim could not be located at the Rockford hospital it appeared he had been in only for a “short stay.”

Rock argued that both Clark and Foster should not be released from custody because they posed a danger to the man and the community at large.

Isley argued they could be released with special conditions as part of their pretrial release.

Lindsey agreed to release both men from custody with the special conditions that they be placed on home confinement, wear an electronic monitoring device, and not have any contact with the man or each other. He set their next court hearing for 10 a.m. July 8.