Five Charged For Beating Man On North Side
CHICAGO (STMW) -- Five young men have been charged for beating and seriously injuring a man who was walking with his wife early Friday in the West Rogers Park neighborhood.
The five were arrested about 1:30 a.m. Friday after allegedly beating a 41-year-old man so badly that he remained in intensive care on Saturday with possible bleeding on the brain, police said.
The man was walking on the sidewalk with his wife on the 2200 block of West Devon Avenue when they were threatened and verbally assaulted, police said.
Somebody in the group said words to the effect of "go around us," meaning they wanted the couple to move to a different area of the sidewalk, then one of the males punched the man in the head, police News Affairs Officer Robert Perez said.
The man fell to the ground and was injured by both the punch and the fall, Perez said.
"He hit the ground hard," Perez said.
The woman flagged down a police officer and the five were taken into custody shortly after the attack, Perez said.
Walter Gonzalez, 18, of the 5000 block of North Western Avenue, was charged with felony aggravated battery, police said. He is expected to appear in court for a bond hearing Sunday.
Terrance Kirksey, 18, of the 7200 block of North Damen Avenue, Timothy Wade, 21, of the 3900 block of West Lexington Street, and Jabar Azami, 26, of the 500 block of Lawler Avenue in Wilmette, were each charged with one count of misdemeanor assault, police said. They are scheduled to appear North Misdemeanor Court at Belmont and Western for a hearing on June 8. A 17-year-old juvenile was also charged with one count of misdemeanor assault.
The victim was being treated for serious injuries at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, Perez said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
