MATTOON — An argument over money has led to two Mattoon men being charged in Coles County Circuit Court with home invasion and criminal trespass.
According to a Mattoon police report, officers responded Sunday to a Mattoon home where a man said Michael Vance, 25, and Preston Allen, 54, came into his home and battered him with their fists and scrap wood laying in the house.
The report said witnesses told police the beatings did not stop until the victim’s roommate pulled a pistol and told the men to leave. One witness said Vance had been at the residence “several times over the past week threatening (the victim) to pay him money or he would ‘get it,’” the report said.
During questioning, the report said Vance told officers he had been punched by the victim earlier in the night and decided to go to the man’s residence four to five hours later. He said Allen accompanied him the residence to confront the individual over the owed money, leading to a physical altercation where the man was hit with a board and punched several times.
Vance told police the man owed both him and Allen money, however, when police spoke to Allen he told them he did not recall any of the events and did not know the people involved, the report said.
Vance and Allen remain in the Coles County Jail, each on a $150,000 bond.
Allen has an open case for felony possession of a firearm, possession of meth and drug paraphernalia. His next court appearance is set for Feb. 14.
Vance is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 21.
