Hannibal man pleads not guilty to attempted first-degree murder charge from August 2022

QUINCY — A Hannibal man charged with attempted first-degree murder in August 2022 pled not guilty during his arraignment Wednesday afternoon in Adams County Circuit Court.

Jayshon A. Levy, 21, appeared with Public Defender Mark Taylor before Judge Holly Henze. He has been charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder, a Class X felony punishable for between six and 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, and three counts of aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony punishable for between three and seven years in prison.

Henze put Levy’s case on the October jury docket. His next appearance in court will be a status hearing on Sept. 11.

Taylor then asked if he could argue for Levy to receive pretrial release. Judge Josh Jones denied Levy’s pretrial release when he appeared for the first time in Adams County Circuit Court on July 21.

“I’ll be completely honest with you, your honor,” Taylor said. “If you were reading the admonishment and you’re going through the charges, the defendant has been charged with some pretty heinous crimes. I don’t question the prosecutor’s denial of pretrial release or anything of that effect your honor, but I do think it points to a huge problem that probably should be addressed.

“In my humble opinion, these are cases are simply overcharged. What we have is a situation where we take defendants who have minor offenses or normal offenses and we overcharge them, hold them without pretrial release for a good portion of a year, then we amend those charges down to normal charges, and then we let them go. This is happening over and over again.”

Charging documents filed in Adams County Circuit Court allege Levy committed attempted first-degree murder by strangling Abigail Stegeman, holding her head underwater, hitting her with a shower curtain rod and holding a knife to her throat on Aug. 31, 2022. He allegedly committed aggravated domestic battery when he punched Stegeman in the face, breaking her eye socket, on Aug. 15, 2022, then put his hands on her throat and hit her about the body on Aug. 31, 2022.

“The attempted murder is based on an allegation that on the day prior, (Levy) took (Stegeman’s) head and put it underwater in a shower,” Taylor said. “Let’s not even go into how impractical that is, but let’s go into how they’re going to go about proving it. The only two people who were there that day were the defendant and the alleged victim in this case. … It’s just an accusation. Let’s not forget that no one’s even spoken to this alleged victim for two years.”

Detectives with the Quincy Police Department developed information leading them to believe Levy was in the Phoenix area. Detectives and members of the West Central Illinois Task Force traveled May 29 to Phoenix to find Levy. They worked with a joint violent crimes task force to apprehend Levy on Thursday, May 30.

Levy was held in the Maricopa County Jail in Phoenix, then extradited to the Marion County (Mo.) Jail. A warrant was issued for his arrest on June 18 for a parole violation. Levy had been found guilty of possession of a controlled substance and sentenced to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections on Feb. 8, 2022. However, he received a suspended execution of that sentence and was placed on five years of probation.

“Levy has been free for two years (since being placed on probation),” Taylor said. “I don’t understand how we can both say that there are no conditions which could ensure the safety of others when he’s been free for two years with no conditions at all in place. It wasn’t until recently he was picked up on this probation violation. As a result, he’s been out for the last two years, and he’s done nothing. He has not reoffended. So I would argue that denial of pretrial release is not appropriate here.”

Taylor said Levy likely has lost his job in Arizona.

“If you look at the facts of the case — don’t just look at the charges but the actual facts behind those charges — there’s no weight behind these charges at all,” Taylor said. “This cannot be the standard.”

Taylor asked for alternatives to keeping Levy in the Adams County Jail, including an ankle monitor.

“We are holding him, in my opinion, for no good reason,” he said. “There are much less restrictive means.”

Assistant State’s Attorney Brett Jansen said he recently spoke with Dennis Woodward, Stegeman’s attorney.

“She is still requesting the order of protection (against Levy) remain in effect,” Jansen said. “She is requesting for him to be detained, and we are opposed to him being released.”

Jansen agreed Levy wasn’t arrested for two years before he left the state, but it wasn’t because he simply stayed out of trouble. Jansen also referred to Jones’ previous denial of pretrial release.

“Mr. Levy is charged with incredibly serious offenses,” he said. “He has been outside this jurisdiction for more than two years while his warrant was active, and his victim is still fearing for her life.”

Henze ruled that Jansen had maintained the burden of proof of providing evidence that Levy should remain lodged in the jail.