GILLESPIE/CARLINVILLE - A Carlinville man was charged May 18, 2026, by the Macoupin County State’s Attorney’s Office with aggravated assault on a peace officer and resisting a peace officer after authorities alleged he attempted to strike a Gillespie police officer with a baseball bat a day earlier and refused lawful commands during his detention, according to the Gillespie Police Department.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
The defendant was identified as James J. Chapman, 53, of Carlinville.
According to the Gillespie Police Department, Chapman was charged with one count of aggravated assault on a peace officer, a Class 4 felony, and one count of resisting a peace officer, a Class A misdemeanor.
Police said the alleged incident occurred on May 17, 2026.
In a statement, the department said Chapman, “in committing an assault, knew the individual assaulted to be a peace officer performing his official duties in that said defendant attempting to strike an Officer of the Gillespie Police Department with a baseball bat, thereby placing the Officer in a reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery.”
The department also said Chapman “knowingly obstructed the performance of an officer of the Gillespie Police Department of an authorized act within his official capacity, being the detention of the defendant, knowing the officer to be a peace officer engaged in the execution of their official duties, in that said defendant refused lawful commands and walked away from them to delay arrest.”
The Gillespie Police Department said the charges are based only on probable cause and are not an indication of guilt.
