ROMEOVILLE -- A nephew of Drew Peterson's slain third wife says prosecutors will call him to the witness stand during the disgraced former cop's trial, and he believes the testimony is going to cost him a year of his life.

"This is definitely political," Charlie Doman said of prosecutors supposedly planning to lock him up for the maximum year sentence if he is convicted of misdemeanor battery and obstructing justice in order to keep his testimony above reproach.

Doman, 34, was arrested in July for allegedly attacking his sister's boyfriend and refusing to allow police to shoot his mugshot.

"It's not a bad crime," Doman said. "Nobody got hurt."

But Doman said his public defender, Robert Bodach, related that the state is pursuing a year jail sentence so they cannot be accused of favoritism when Doman testifies at the murder trial of Drew Peterson.

"They think the state's going to call me to testify against Drew," Doman said. "They don't want (Peterson's attorney Joel) Brodsky to use it."

Peterson has been in jail since May while he waits to be tried for the murder of Doman's aunt Kathleen Savio.

Bodach declined to comment on Doman's allegations. Charles B. Pelkie, the spokesman for the state's attorney's office, would not comment on the battery and obstructing charges but dismissed Doman's claims of being persecuted to further another case.

"No other investigation at all had any bearing on the charging or the prosecution of this case," Pelkie said.

Doman admitted to confronting the boyfriend of his sister but insists no one was injured in the altercation. Doman also said the boyfriend, Bobby Perez, repeatedly told police he did not want to press charges.

Perez could not be reached for comment.

Doman was initially arrested on a charge of domestic battery for allegedly pushing his own girlfriend, Kristin Locasto, while trying to get at Perez. The charge was later changed to battery for allegedly attacking Perez.

After his arrest, Doman was taken to the Romeoville police station for processing. Things there did not go well.

"I swear to God, they were taking pictures (of me) with cell phones," Doman said. "I wouldn't let them book me. I told them, 'Just take me to jail.'"

This recalcitrance bought Doman the obstructing charge.

Deputy Police Chief Mark Turvey was dubious of Doman's cell phone photo claim.

"I don't believe that for a minute," he said.

Turvey did explain that because Doman was so unruly, "At one point an officer grabbed a digital camera to try to get his mugshot. (But) he didn't cooperate with that either."

Doman said he did not want his photograph taken because he was concerned about bad publicity and possibly damaging the Peterson prosecution.

"I didn't want to mess up anything with my aunt's case," he said.

"I was afraid," he said. "I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know if they were going to try to sell (his photo)" to a media outlet.

Doman then went to the county jail. While he was being fingerprinted and booked, he passed out and hit the floor.

"I think I had a heart attack," he said, adding, "I felt like I was going to die."

Doman was transported to Silver Cross Hospital but released in the morning, And from there, things possibly got worse for him.

Doman says he was taken to court in nothing but his boxer shorts and a tank top, and when he was returned to jail, the staff for some reason placed him on suicide watch.

"I had no idea" why, Doman said, adding that he still does not know what made jail staff think he would pull his own plug.

"I asked them why and they didn't say," he recalled. "They just said I may have said I may hurt myself or someone else."

Doman said he was forced to don a "silly dress" and stripped of his eyeglasses, leaving him virtually blind for the five days he was on suicide watch.

To add insult to injury, he says, a correctional officer implied Doman orchestrated his arrest, incarceration and placement on suicide watch to get at his allegedly murderous uncle.

"She accused me of plotting to get sent up to the medical unit to beat up Drew," he said.

Seven days after he was taken into custody, Doman's girlfriend came up with his $500 bond and he was released from the jail. His trial is scheduled for January and Doman suspects prosecutors want to put him away for the maximum.

"They want to give me 364 days," Doman said.

Besides dispelling notions of favoritism, Doman also believes State's Attorney James Glasgow has it in for him since he publicly called out prosecutors to "step it up" with regard to handling his murdered aunt's case.

"I know I said some things the state's attorney didn't want me to say," he said. "I think that might be it."

Pelkie said that this also was "ludicrous."

Doman is no stranger to violent crime. He was sentenced to probation for stabbing a sleeping man 13 times and later was sent to prison for slashing the neck of a man he claims was trying to rob him.

"I've served less time for doing more damage on a felony," Doman said.

"I almost killed somebody how many times and the most I did was six months," he said, adding, "I just think it's too much time."