Boystown: Men Beaten On Halsted Street Because They Didn’t Have A Cigarette; 5 Charged

Three men and two women from the South Side face multiple battery charges after they attacked four men on the Halsted Street bar strip early Sunday, prosecutors said.

The victims, all between 25- and 30-years-old and gay,  told police that they were on Halsted Street near Aldine when a car carrying four people pulled up and one of the occupants asked to borrow a cigarette around 5:50 a.m. Sunday.

When the men said that they did not have one, the driver pulled the car over and all four occupants got out and started attacking the men, the victims said.

The attack moved west on Aldine and poured into Clark Street, where it crossed paths with a police officer who broadcast a description of the suspects’ car.

Another police unit pulled the vehicle over moments later when the driver blew a red light at Belmont and Lake Shore Drive, police said.

All four men identified the vehicle’s passengers as the people who beat them, police said.

23-year-old Shaquile Fisher, 19-year-old Christen Shield, 27-year-old Ishena Spaulding, and 27-year-old Stephon Walker-Purnell are each charged with four counts of battery, according to court and Chicago Police Department records.

25-year-old Anesia Purnell is charged with three counts of battery, court records show.

Walker-Purnell also received a traffic citation for failure to obey a stop signal.

The victims refused medical treatment.

Images: Chicago Police Department intake photos of (top to bottom): Fisher; Purnell; Shield; Spaulding; and Walker-Purnell

——
The next community policing meeting for Wrigleyville + Boystown will be held at 7 p.m. tonight at the 19th District police station, 850 West Addison.
About CWBChicago 4272 Articles
CWBChicago was created in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had grown disheartened with inaccurate information that was being provided at local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has expanded since then to cover Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side Areas. But our mission remains unchanged: To provide original public safety reporting with better context and greater detail than mainstream media outlets. Our editorial email address is news@cwbchicago.com