Jury trial for Homan removed from next week’s docket; possible plea may be entered Tuesday

QUINCY — The trial of a former owner of a Quincy nightclub accused of assaulting a Quincy University student in April 2021 has been removed from next week’s jury docket.

The trial for Steven W. Homan, 49, was set to begin on Tuesday, Feb. 14 before Judge Mark Vincent. It was expected to last four days. However, Sharon Main, trial court administrator for the Eighth Judicial Circuit, informed local media on Thursday that the jury trial will not happen. 

However, Homan will appear at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Adams County Circuit Court and is expected to enter a plea.

Homan was charged April 14, 2021, after a Quincy Police Department investigation of an April 4 incident at the Barn nightclub, 711 S. Front. Jazzpher Evans, a former Quincy University student from Shorewood, Ill., alleged she was attacked by Homan.

Homan turned himself into police on April 15, 2021. His bail was set at $25,000. He was released and has since been free on bond after posting $2,500. An Adams County grand jury indicted him on April 29, 2021.

Homan pleaded not guilty to one count of aggravated battery when he made his first appearance in Adams County Circuit Court in May 2021.

A charging document filed in Adams County Circuit Court alleges Homan “knowingly made physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature” with Evans. It also alleges Homan placed his arm around Evans’ neck and “drug her for 20 seconds.”

Chicago-area attorney Keenan J. Saulter originally represented Evans. A statement from Saulter’s law firm in April 2021 alleged Evans and another female QU student stood next to a DJ booth, requesting for a change in music, when Homan approached Evans and “violently pushed” her against a wall. 

“Homan then grabbed Jazz and threw her to the ground,” the statement from Saulter alleges. “Homan then placed Jazz in a full choke hold and strangled her until she lost consciousness. After rendering her unconscious, Homan then dragged her lifeless body out of his establishment and slammed her to the ground, not knowing or caring if she was dead or alive.”

Assistant State’s Attorney Josh Jones represented the state during recent hearings in Adams County Circuit Court.

Evans, a native of Shorewood, Ill., left Quincy University, where she was a member of the women’s basketball team. She now attends the University of Alaska-Anchorage, where she is the third-leading scorer on the women’s basketball team.