Appeals court reverses battery conviction against Bloomington man

Posted on July 8, 2015

Thomas Bartholomew has been serving a 13-year prison term for aggravated battery. (Photo courtesy Illinois Department of Corrections)

By Eric Stock

SPRINGFIELD – A Bloomington man serving a 13-year prison sentence for punching a police detective is getting a new trial.

The 4th District Appellate Court has reversed the conviction against Thomas Bartholomew. The court has ruled that the McLean County court didn’t fully comply with Illinois Supreme Court rules when it allowed Bartholomew to fire his attorney and represent himself during his April 2013 trial.

Bartholomew, 44, was allowed to act as his own attorney and was convicted of two counts of aggravated battery and a misdemeanor count of battery. He punched a police detective in the mouth and chest when police came to talk to him about an investigation in September of 2012. Batholomew tried to flee and hid inside Phoenix Towers where a SWAT team was brought in to capture him.

Bartholomew has served prison time for previous offenses in Peoria and Tazewell counties. He was scheduled to be released from Menard Correctional Center in Chester in March of 2019.

Judge Casey Costigan presided over Bartholomew’s trial. The McLean County State’s Attorney Jason Chambers said his office does intend to bring the case up for a new trial.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…