Homan pleads not guilty; status review of case set for July 6

QUINCY — Steven Homan, owner of the Barn nightclub at 711 S. Front, pled not guilty to a charge of aggravated battery when he made his first appearance Tuesday morning in an Adams County courtroom.

Homan, 47, was charged April 14 after a Quincy Police Department investigation of an incident at the nightclub on April 4. Jazzpher Evans, a 19-year-old Quincy University student from Joliet, alleges she was attacked by Homan.

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

Homan was joined Tuesday morning by Michael Mettes, an associate with the St. Louis firm of Rosenblum, Schwartz & Fry. Mettes appeared on behalf of Scott Rosenblum, who has represented rapper Nelly and former St. Louis Rams football stars Marshall Faulk and Leonard Little. Assistant state’s attorney Josh Jones represented the county.

After Homan made his plea, Judge Amy Lannerd set July 6 for a status review of the case.

Two Adams County Sheriff’s Department deputies were inside Courtroom 2B. Five deputies, along with Sheriff Rich Wagner, were outside the courtroom as Homan waited on a bench.

A charge of aggravated battery is a Class 3 felony. It carries a possible range of two to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, plus one year of supervised release.

Homan turned himself into police on April 15. His bail was set at $25,000, and he posted $2,500 and was released.

Homan relinquished the license for the nightclub the day before the Liquor Control Commission was set to meet.

Evans told a Chicago television station she believes Homan attacked her because she is Black. Chicago-area attorney Keenan J. Saulter is representing Evans.