Dad Charged After Choking Son's Mother at Mall

Leon Hester, 38, of Skokie, was charged with two counts of domestic battery Thursday after a witness saw him choking a 32-year-old woman, who was the mother of his child, at the food court in Golf Mill Shopping Center. After choking the woman, Hester grabbed their son and left the food court area. 

After getting the phone call from the witness, police arrived and found Hester and the child near the north end of the mall. They reunited the mother and child. When officers asked the mother, also a Skokie resident, to follow them to the Niles police station so they could photograph her injuries, she refused and drove away from the mall with the boy.

Police notified the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Hester has a court date on April 11 at the Cook County courthouse in Skokie.

Home burglarized

A Niles resident in the 8100 block of Merrill asked a neighbor to watch over and feed cats in the home. When the neighbor went to the house about 9:45 a.m. Saturday, he discovered a rear door open as well as a window broken. He called police to inform them that things in the house had been disturbed and some items appeared to be missing. Police are investigating.