Hunt is on for Ogle County parolee charged in stabbing

Bailey J. Gildea in January 2023

OREGON – Ogle County law enforcement is searching for a former Chana man and Illinois Department of Corrections parolee now also accused of taking part in a stabbing in Rochelle in early October.

A warrant was issued nationwide for Bailey J. Gildea, 29, of Rochelle, the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office posted Thursday. He is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, mob action, aggravated fleeing to elude authorities and resisting arrest.

According to Ogle County court records, Gildea and co-defendant Jesse J. Mohica, 23, of Rochelle, attacked a man Oct. 7 in Rochelle. Mohica is accused of stabbing the man, Gildea is being charged as an accomplice, and both are accused of punching the man.

Mohica, who was arrested Nov. 27 and is being held in the Ogle County jail, also is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and mob action. He has a pretrial hearing set for Dec. 13.

Jesse J. Mohica in November 2023

The battery charge is punishable by two to five years in prison, and mob action is punishable by one to three years.

Gildea has a felony criminal history in the county dating to 2016, when he was indicted on a drug-dealing charge, court records show.

On June 23, 2017, he was sentenced to six years for dealing cocaine and sent to boot camp. Another count of dealing cocaine was dismissed.

On July 15 and 27, 2022, Gildea was involved in the beating of two men, one of whom he punched, causing a concussion, court records show.

On Dec. 19, 2022, he was sentenced in those two cases and one other to a year and a half in prison, terms to run concurrently, for two counts of mob action, aggravated battery and criminal damage to government property. Possession of a controlled substance and two counts of aggravated battery were dismissed per his plea agreement.

According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, he subsequently was paroled from Centralia Correctional Center on June 1 and now is considered an absconder.

Gildea is 5 feet, 10 inches tall with auburn hair and blue eyes, with “Carmyn” tattooed on his right lower arm, “Adalynn” on his left lower arm, and an eye inside a triangle on this left hand.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 815-732-1101 or Ogle-Lee Crime Stoppers at 888-228-4488.

Callers can remain anonymous. Information leading to Gildea’s arrest may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

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Kathleen Schultz

Kathleen A. Schultz

Kathleen Schultz is a Sterling native with 40 years of reporting and editing experience in Arizona, California, Montana and Illinois.