Rockford Man Sentenced in Mercer County Assault Case

A Rockford man has been sentenced after pleading guilty in a case stemming from a September 2025 incident in Rockford.

Dallas E. Fortner was originally charged in Mercer County Common Pleas Court with felonious assault, possessing criminal tools, vehicular vandalism, and criminal damaging or endangering. The charges were tied to an incident on September 13, 2025, at an apartment on West Market Street in Rockford.

Fortner later pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, a fourth degree felony, along with possessing criminal tools, a fifth degree felony, and vehicular vandalism, a first degree misdemeanor.

According to the initial complaint, Fortner approached a vehicle carrying two people who had gone to the apartment to retrieve clothing, then used a baseball bat to strike the passenger side front window. The window shattered, sending glass into the vehicle and injuring one victim, who suffered cuts to the face and a laceration to the right hand that required stitches. The vehicle was identified as a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze.

The complaint also states Fortner later told deputies he struck the vehicle with the bat because he feared for his safety and believed he was trying to hit a person in the back seat.

Under the sentence handed down in Mercer County Common Pleas Court, Fortner received 12 months in prison on the aggravated assault charge and 12 months on the possessing criminal tools charge, with those terms to be served concurrently. He was also sentenced to 180 days at the Mercer County Adult Detention Facility on the vehicular vandalism charge, also to be served concurrently.

Fortner was given credit for 12 days already served. The court also ordered the sentence to run concurrently with the term in case number 21 CRM 136.

No fine was imposed, but the court ordered restitution of $357.10 to one victim and $459.16 to a second victim. The judgment entry was filed March 24 and signed by Judge Matthew K. Fox.