Police: Man Punched Neighbor Who Asked for Quiet

Racine police say a 29-year-old man is facing battery charges after he punched his neighbor in the face after she asked him to turn down his music.

Reginald Sparkman, of Racine, was charged Monday in Racine County Circuit Court with one felony count of substantial battery and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. If he’s convicted of all charges, Sparkman faces up to three years, nine months in prison and/or up to $11,000 in fines. Because he is considered a repeat offender, he could get extra time tacked onto any sentence he might receive.

According to the criminal complaint, police were called June 21 to a home in the 1000 block of Washington Avenue for a report of an assault. When officers arrived, a woman told them she went upstairs to ask the residents there to turn down their music. Sparkman “lost it” and punched her in the face.

Police say a another man told them he did not witness the attack, but he heard the woman crying and screaming for help so he went upstairs. The woman was on the floor crying and bleeding from her mouth, and Sparkman admitted to hitting her.

The woman received 20 stitches inside and outside her mouth and suffered a broken jaw, the complaint reads.

Sparkman remains in the Racine County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond. He will next be in court July 7 for his preliminary hearing.