Evidence shows Douglas’ vehicle going 88 mph in crash with wife’s car; judge denies pretrial release

QUINCY — Carl E. Douglas II slumped in his chair and rolled his eyes after Associate Circuit Court Judge Holly Henze ruled he would not be granted pretrial release on Wednesday afternoon.

Douglas II, 48, appeared in Adams County Circuit Court with Chief Public Defender Jonathan Hoover to be arraigned. He pled not guilty to three charges: 

• Attempted first-degree murder, a Class X felony punishable for between six and 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. If found guilty by a jury, Douglas II would have to serve 85 percent of his sentence.
• Aggravated attempted domestic battery, a Class 3 felony punishable for between two and five years in prison. If found guilty by a jury, Douglas II would have to serve 50 percent of his sentence.
• Aggravated assault, a Class 4 felony punishable for between one and three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. If found guilty by a jury, Douglas II would have to serve 50 percent of his sentence.

Henze placed the case on the November jury docket before Associate Circuit Court Judge John Wooleyhan. 

Hoover then asked the court to address pretrial detention.

Douglas II allegedly rammed his Tesla several times into a vehicle driven by his estranged wife, Katherine Douglas, on July 14. He was charged on July 22 with aggravated assault and granted pretrial release. 

However, further investigation into the July 14 incident discovered additional information leading to the new charge for Douglas, 48. Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Keck told Henze on Wednesday that evidence in the police reports obtained from the Tesla showed Douglas struck his wife’s vehicle while it was going 88 miles per hour, the accelerator was pressed at 100 percent and he did not brake.

Douglas was taken into custody at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport by Homeland Security and the Customs and Border Patrol when he disembarked a plane on Aug. 28 after returning from a trip to another country. He has been in the Adams County Jail since Circuit Court Judge Christopher Pratt denied pretrial release during a Sept. 13 hearing.

Hoover called Douglas’ son, Carl Douglas III, as a witness. He testified about a May 2023 incident involving his father and stepmother at the Gen Z Club in Quincy.

“Me and my dad, we always hang out. We spent a lot of time on the weekends,” he said. “We were just having a good time. Katie likes to go wherever we frequent, anywhere we go. She likes to show up there and, kind of like, cause a scene. We’re just having a good time. He’s hanging out, talking to all his friends, and she comes out of nowhere and throws a drink in his face and smacks him. 

“ … That’s what I would call domestic violence. He didn’t do nothing. He didn’t provoke her. He didn’t say nothing to her. It wasn’t warranted. There’s no reason for her to put her hands on him.”

Hoover then submitted as evidence a video taken by Douglas III later that night showing an altercation at his father’s home on Cheswick Road between his stepmother and two other women. Henze later called it a “catfight.”

Douglas III said he has been staying in the Cheswick Road home while his father is incarcerated because he claims his stepmother has come to the house and taken items to Iowa, where she now lives. He said she recently texted him to say he shouldn’t live in the home.

“She just makes me feel uncomfortable, like I feel unsafe living in my father’s house,” Douglas III said. “I keep asking her, ‘Please don’t text me. This has nothing to do with me.’ I’m just staying at my father’s house. I said, ‘This is harassment.’ And she texts me, ‘I’ll do as I please, as always.’ Then she told me, ‘You laugh now. Be worried later.’”

When Hoover asked if his stepmother had threatened his father, Douglas III said, “I have. Definitely.”

He claimed his father once contacted him on Facetime, and his stepmother was in the background saying, “You better get a gun. Keep a gun on you.”

Hoover later submitted another video taken July 14 from the Tesla showing a few seconds of driving behind Katherine Douglas’ car. 

Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Keck asked Douglas III where he was on July 14. He said he was with his father again at the Gen Z Club, except now it’s called the Rodeo. 

“Were you drinking?” Keck asked.

“I was. He wasn’t. He had no drink,” Douglas III said. “He definitely was sober.”

He said his stepmother showed up at the Rodeo that night, and his father left.

“He didn’t want no drama,” Douglas III said.

Keck then called Det. Eric Cowick with the Quincy Police Department as a witness. He said he is the assigned detective for the Douglas case, and as part of his duties, he reviews jail calls and jail messages. Cowick said he recently heard of a jail call between Douglas II and another person.

“(Douglas II) told the person he was talking to that he was very drunk and didn’t remember everything that happened (on July 14),” Cowick said.

Keck said the July 14 incident happened after Douglas II allegedly told Katherine Douglas he was going to “knock her out.”

“I would further note there is significant evidence, not only from the victim but from minor children, (claiming) the defendant had threatened to kill her on multiple occasions,” she said. “Nothing has been presented today that does not show that that did not occur.”

Keck also called the testimony of Douglas III “not credible” in light of Cowick’s testimony. She asked Henze to continue to deny pretrial release.

Hoover said Katherine Douglas has been convicted in prior domestic incidents in Iowa, and his client was the victim in the May 2023 incident. He said no incidents have been reported since Douglas II was put on pretrial release.

“Just a few days ago, he was arrested based on this new indictment and new charge that they’ve created based on the same circumstances and same events, yet now, (the prosecution is) seeking to detain him, claiming he’s more dangerous, when in fact, during that entire period, there have been no incidents — which clearly shows he can be on pretrial release and not be a danger, because he isn’t a danger,” Hoover said.

“The state has decided to charge him with attempted murder, which, quite frankly, isn’t appropriate, but it is what it is. They think that overcharging is what has become the basis for the second detention, which is why he’s incarcerated right now. It’s nothing based on his conduct, and it’s nothing based on any other circumstance that would show any kind of nature. It’s just they’ve added a charge from the same event back in July.”

Keck said Katherine Douglas reported to the police that she was driving away from Douglas II and that he struck her on the side of the vehicle. She then tried to go around his vehicle, and he sped up and struck her again. 

“If we could have detained Mr. Douglas on July 22, we would have done so,” Keck said. “However, the law does not allow for detention or an aggravated assault. It allows detention for attempted first-degree murder or attempted aggravated domestic battery. When the people obtained additional evidence, we then sought the additional charges and sought detention. I recognize that’s not the ideal way to do it.”

Henze said the video from the Tesla showed Katherine Douglas’ vehicle pulling into the lane the Tesla was in, and Douglas II was following her “at a high rate of speed and no attempt to brake, based on the Tesla reports.” The difference between the first charging document and the second charging document was evidence received from the Tesla.

“I can’t make the finding that Mr. Hoover is asking me that the state has overcharged,” Henze said as she denied pretrial release.