Jacob Bathon
Mike Weber
Jacob Bathon, the son of Madison County Treasurer Fred Bathon, was arrested for battery Monday after pushing and punching funeral director Mike Weber of Weber Funeral Home on Main Street in Edwardsville.
The Edwardsville Police Department filed misdemeanor battery charges against Bathon early Tuesday morning. He posted a $100 bond and was released.
According to police sources, Bathon pushed and struck Weber in the face after he refused to place a Fred Bathon campaign yard sign on the funeral home's front lawn.
Weber told Bathon that the funeral home did not place political signs of any kind on the funeral home property.
The incident happened around 11 p.m. after a fund-raiser for Fred Bathon concluded at Rusty's several blocks down the road from Weber's.
Mike Weber was seen with a band-aid over his left eye while directing traffic during a funeral on Tuesday.
Madison County State's Attorney Bill Mudge filed a motion for the appointment of an independent prosecutor from the appellate prosecutor's office.
"I know the victim, know of the defendant, and, of course, work in the same building with Fred Bathon, so I thought it best to remove any concern about how this will be handled by having a special prosecutor assigned," Mudge said.
"I obviously do not have all the details on the case, as my fund-raiser was long over before the incident, and my wife and I were already at home. As the legal case moves forward, I am sure the facts will come out. As a family, we are going to come together to help our son through this process," Fred Bathon said in a prepared statement.
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