West Chicago man charged with punching, threatening to kill girlfriend

Bail was set at $300,000 Thursday for a West Chicago man accused of attacking and threatening to kill his girlfriend while out on bond in a previous domestic battery case.

Lee Steverson, 30, is charged with two counts of domestic battery, one count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and one count of being an armed habitual criminal, according to a statement from the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.

Steverson’s girlfriend told investigators that they were at his West Chicago home when he asked for her car keys and she told him she didn’t have them, prosecutors said. Steverson then punched the woman in the left side of her face.

After punching her, Steverson pulled out a handgun and said he would kill her if she called the police, according to the state’s attorney’s office. She then went outside and called 911.

Steverson ran off with the gun and a bag of marijuana when he realized the woman had called police, prosecutors said. Responding officers found him at a nearby store and took him into custody. While searching the area, police found a gun and a bag of pot near a bush in the area.

Prosecutors said Steverson had been released from custody two weeks earlier after posting $750 bond on a previous charge of attacking his girlfriend.

Judge Liam Brennan set Steverson’s bail at $300,000. His next court date is April 12, prosecutors said.