Rural Illinois man accused of holding woman captive overnight, crashing vehicle while fleeing deputies
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Ill. – A Williamson County, Illinois, man is recovering in a local hospital after crashing his car while fleeing from sheriff’s deputies for holding a woman captive overnight.
According to a spokesperson for the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched to an address in rural Cambria just after 9:10 a.m. Monday for a report of domestic battery. Deputies met with a woman who said she’d escaped from her home after being held there overnight.
The victim told deputies she got home Sunday around 4 p.m. and found Larry D. Parsons, 54, hiding in her bedroom. The woman has an order of protection against Parsons, prohibiting him from having contact with the victim or coming to her home.
She said Parsons was armed with a knife and threatened to kill her. He allegedly struck her with a metal object and kept her at the house, at one point telling her, “We’re both going to die tonight.”
The woman managed to escape early Monday morning and contacted the sheriff’s office.
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Deputies went to the woman’s home and found Parsons had left. However, they saw Parsons loading the victim’s belongings into his vehicle.
When deputies approached Parsons in order to make an arrest, Parsons drove off and deputies initiated a pursuit.
Parsons sped through Cambria and eventually lost control of his car. The vehicle struck several utility poles and rolled over before coming to a stop in a ditch. The utility poles had been cut in half and utility lines were downed in the area as a result.
First responders arrived at the crash scene and used the jaws of life to remove Parsons from the vehicle.
The sheriff’s office claims Parsons is known through prior incidents to have a history of violence toward deputies and previous attempts to flee from law enforcement.
Following his arrest, the sheriff’s office cited Parsons for aggravated assault, aggravated fleeing and eluding, aggravated unlawful restraint, criminal trespass to a residence, disobeying a stop sign, domestic battery, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, failure to signal when required, improper lane usage, interference with the reporting of domestic violence, operating an uninsured vehicle, reckless conduct, reckless driving, residential burglary, resisting – obstructing a police officer, and violation of an order of protection.
The Williamson County State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed Tuesday morning that Parsons has been charged. Parsons remains hospitalized. Once he’s medically cleared, he’ll be brought to the Williamson County Jail.
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