Sterling man accused of 5 no-contact order violations in past month now jailed on weapons charges

MORRISON – A Sterling man accused of violating a protective order five times within two weeks has been taken into custody on weapons charges.

Brett A. Holcomb, 35, was arrested by Sterling police about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 16, in the 1500 block of West Fourth Street and taken to the Whiteside County Jail, where he remained jailed Thursday.

It’s the latest in a string of cases filed against Holcomb since a protective order was issued against him March 13. He was charged with violating that order of protection on March 19, appeared in court the next day and was released under pretrial release conditions. Individual cases continued to be filed in Whiteside County accusing him of violating the order on March 20, 22 and 26. Those three charges were listed in individual criminal complaints filed March 27.

The same woman also was granted an emergency order of protection in September to keep Holcomb away from her. It was dropped during an October court hearing. According to court records, the order was vacated at a hearing in which the petitioner failed to appear.

Holcomb now faces two additional cases filed Wednesday by the Whiteside County State’s Attorney’s Office, the same day he was arrested in Sterling and detained.

According to court documents, the warrant served is for a misdemeanor case accusing Holcomb of violating the order of protection, and harassment through electronic communication. According to court documents, Holcomb on March 28 – one day after he was released from jail – again attempted to contact the woman named in the protective order.

The harassment charge accuses Holcomb of sending five emails and 37 text messages and trying to contact the woman by phone 17 times and through seven video calls. According to the complaint, Holcomb threatened to harm the woman and called her several obscene names with the intent to offend.

The criminal felony case accuses him of two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, specifically a Smith & Wesson handgun and eight rounds of 9 mm ammunition as a felon, and one count of unlawful possession of a weapon when he was arrested Wednesday. The aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon charge accuses him of illegally possessing an uncased, loaded and immediately accessible handgun, and that an order of protection had been issued against him within the past two years.

Holcomb has pleaded not guilty.

The possession of weapons charges, which accuse him of having the gun and ammunition, are the most serious charges he faces. They are Class 3 felonies that carry possible prison sentences of three to 14 years.

A criminal complaint filed March 18 in Whiteside County Circuit Court also accuses him of driving under the influence on March 16.

His next court appearance is set for April 28 in all cases.