$50,000 Damage, Minooka Man Must Be Jailed, Glasgow Staff Implores
MINOOKA, IL — Matt Karnas’ continued threats to harm his ex-wife, her family, his own divorce lawyer and the man whose legs he injured Feb. 11 by using his truck as a deadly weapon, causing $50,000 damage, are all reasons cited by Assistant Will County State’s Attorney Lauren Senko to have the 40-year-old Minooka man kept inside the Will County Jail.
On Friday morning, Will County Judge Donald DeWilkins could decide the fate of Karnas, who has remained free since the Feb. 11 incident damaged his adversary’s Jeep, Audi, F100 truck, plus a 1931 Ford Model A, a 1926 Ford Journey and a 1963 Ford Lotus concept go-kart, according to the petition to deny pretrial release.
“It’s the people’s position that this offense is deadly and violent in nature because a vehicle was used to pin (the victim) by his legs, which in turn caused disfigurement to (his) body … As a result of this incident, (his) hip was displaced,” Senko’s petition outlined.
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The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office has charged Karnas with seven crimes:
According to the petition to deny pretrial release for Karnas, who turns 40 this month:
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In 2022, an order of protection petition was obtained by his ex-wife after Karnas “threatened to knock (her) teeth out, told her to “drop dead you dumb bitch,” that “she would definitely wish she were stuck under the covers,” that he hoped she “would choke on her own puke and that if he didn’t hear regarding his kids, he would start with (her) dad and “chop every mother (expletive) down who stands in his way,” prosecutors noted.
Karnas also vowed to decapitate the father of his ex-wife, proclaiming “he would take (her) father’s head and put it besides the starter, and there’s nothing to listen to when your head is hanging from a tree,” Senko outlined.
Furthermore, Karnas has told his ex-wife, “I’ll cut your head off with a barstool,” and “he would drag (her) family across a desert and I have some 4 GA wire I will wrap around their neck,” her petition indicated.
As for the Feb. 11 incident on Hickory Court in Minooka, Karnas is accused of reversing his pickup truck into the other man’s parked Jeep, smashing into the man’s garage door, pinning the man’s legs and leaving the man’s hip displaced.
According to the petition, Will County Sheriff’s deputies saw damage to a Jeep, Audi and F100 truck in the driveway and the garage door was knocked off the tracks on Feb. 11.
The estimated damage was more than $50,000, court files show.
A neighbor and his wife heard the incident, and saw Karnas drive away from the victim’s driveway. Channahon police detained Karnas, who was driving his white GMC truck, at the USA Liquors store on Reed Street, “where he … said he believes Stephen f***** around with his wife,” court documents reflect.
Last week, Channahon Police Chief Adam Bogart notified Joliet Patch that his agency did not have a booking mugshot of Karnas because, “our involvement in Will County’s case was limited to locating Mr. Karnas at USA Liquors … where Mr. Karnas was peacefully taken into custody, in the parking lot, by Channahon officers.
“Custody of Mr. Karnas was then transferred to the WCSO within minutes of the arrest. USA Liquors is approximately 2 miles from the location of events leading up to Mr. Karnas’ arrest,” Bogart explained.
In January, Karnas’ divorce lawyer, Ray McSteen of Joliet also obtained an order of protection against his client, after Karnas notified McSteen’s assistant, “Ray knows I’m crazy and what I’m capable of. I’m gonna go find him at the courthouse, the office or his home. I have a chainsaw. I lost the best thing that ever happened to me in the last three years, and he is going to have to pay,” Senko informed Judge DeWilkins in preparation for Friday’s hearing.
Related Joliet Patch coverage of Matt Karnas:
‘He Continued To Crush Me Until The Neighbors Ran Out’: Victim
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