Man Charged With Attacking Woman, Hitting Officer

CHICAGO (STMW) -- Police said they fought for 25 minutes to force their way into a home where they heard a woman screaming as she was allegedly battered by a man from the Near West Side.

Clarence Flowers, 30, was charged with unlawful restraint, two counts of aggravated battery and stalking, court records show. Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois ordered him held in lieu of $1 million on Sunday, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.

He goes by the nickname "Brian 'Bird' Fontell," according to an arrest report that also lists him as a "professional criminal."

Assistant State's Attorney Elizabeth Dibler said Flowers went to a man's apartment Friday in the 3300 block of West Madison, brandished a knife and threatened to kill him. Police were called, Dibler said, and officers told Flowers not to return.

But he did so a few hours later, Dibler said, and he made the same threat and then fled to another apartment — the home of a woman who Dibler said has known Flowers all her life.

Dibler said Flowers pushed his second victim into her bedroom, locked the door and put her in a chokehold so that she couldn't breath.

Police wrote in their report that they could hear the woman screaming and struggling with Flowers while they tried to force their way in. Police said it took them 25 minutes to get in, and once they did, Flowers allegedly lunged and struck an officer in the face before he was arrested.

He also later allegedly tried to spit on an officer.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)