ALTON – Two men from Alton face felony charges in unrelated cases of domestic battery.
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Ahmad M. Gerhardt, 23, of Alton, was charged on June 20, 2025 with a Class 2 felony count of aggravated domestic battery, a Class 3 felony count of aggravated battery, and a Class A misdemeanor count of domestic battery.
On June 17, 2025, Gerhardt allegedly caused great bodily harm to a family or household member by striking them in the head with a piece of wood, causing a severe laceration to the victim’s forehead. He was additionally accused of striking the same victim about the body with a belt.
The victim reported that Gerhardt began striking them about the body with a belt during an argument before hitting them in the head with the piece of wood. Officers documented the victim’s injuries, including the forehead laceration and abrasions to the victim’s body.
Gerhardt fled the scene, but was later located and claimed he had “hit the victim with the piece of wood on accident, and fled to avoid police contact,” according to the state’s petition to deny Gerhardt’s pretrial release from custody.
The petition notes that at the time of this incident, Gerhardt was on pretrial release for multiple prior incidents involving the same victim, including prior felony and domestic violence cases filed earlier this year. He was also previously ordered to have no contact with the victim from these cases.
Gerhardt’s case was presented by the Alton Police Department, and he currently remains in custody at the Madison County Jail.
In a separate case, Ronnie R. Johnson, 47, also of Alton, was charged on June 18, 2025 with a Class 4 felony count of domestic battery, his second or subsequent such offense.
Johnson is accused of striking a family or household member below the left eye with a closed fist without legal justification on May 17, 2025. Johnson had previously been convicted of domestic battery in two Sangamon County cases filed in 1999 and 2001.
The Alton Police Department also presented the case against Johnson, who was ordered released from custody.
All individuals charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
