LAKE COUNTY, Ill. — A suburban man was arrested Sunday after allegedly battering a woman, killing her dog and then taking her and a child hostage.
Adrian Rivera, 40, of Beach Park, is facing a slew of charges after he was taken into custody Sunday morning.
911 telecommunicators received a report that a woman was being held hostage in Wadsworth and deputies located the vehicle near Lewis and Wadsworth Road in Beach Park.
Police allege Rivera forced the woman at knifepoint to drive to Wadsworth to pick up their child.
The child was being held there to be safe from Rivera’s alleged violence. He threatened to kill the victim and her family if she did not comply, police allege. After getting the child, the woman was forced back into the vehicle.
When the woman arrived at the Wadsworth location, she informed her family that she was being allegedly held against her will and Rivera was armed with a knife. The family called 911 and provided the information to authorities.
Police conducted the aforementioned traffic stop and were able to rescue the woman and child from the vehicle.
Prior to the incident, police allege Rivera battered the woman in Beach Park. They also allege he recently bludgeoned the woman’s dog to death and placed the remains in a cooler.
The remains were located along with two firearms belonging to Rivera.
He is facing the following charges.
- Aggravated domestic battery involving strangulation
- Two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon
- Failure of a sexual offender to report a change of address
- Unlawful restraint
- Aggravated animal cruelty
- Unlawful use of a weapon
- Two counts of domestic battery
- Child endangerment
Rivera is due in court Monday.
