GRANITE CITY – Two men from Granite City face felonies in separate cases of domestic battery filed on the same day.
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Robert L. Moore, 55, of Granite City, was charged on June 25, 2025 with one count each of aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony, and domestic battery, a Class A misdemeanor.
On May 19, 2025, Moore allegedly strangled a household or family member and struck them about the head and face with closed fists.
The state’s petition to deny Moore’s pretrial release from custody states that authorities observed the victim’s injuries, including “clearly swollen cheeks and eyes, with bruising on her neck.” The victim reported that Moore became intoxicated and angry before striking and strangling her; she added that Moore had “previously stabbed her with a screwdriver.”
In a separate case, Robert J. Besse, 37, also of Granite City, was charged on June 25, 2025 with a Class 2 felony count of aggravated domestic battery and his second or subsequent offense of domestic battery, a Class 4 felony.
Besse is accused of strangling a family or household member by “pressing his foot down on [the victim’s] neck and chest area while she was lying on the ground” on April 13, 2025. He was additionally charged with striking the same victim in the head with a closed fist, throwing her to the floor, and striking her head against the floor.
A report of Besse’s criminal history shows he was previously convicted of aggravated battery in 2007 in Madison County, twice in 2005 for assault in St. Clair County, and more in addition to his 2020 prior conviction of domestic battery in Madison County.
The Granite City Police Department presented the cases against Moore and Besse. Moore currently remains in custody at the Madison County Jail, while Besse has since been granted pretrial release from custody.
All individuals charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
