Three men wearing Cubs gear who allegedly battered four people in Wrigleyville early last Wednesday are facing multiple counts of battery. And their reported victims, some still recovering from injuries, say a fourth offender got away.
CWBChicago first reported on the arrests last night. Now, we’ve heard from one of the alleged victims directly.
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| The parking lot where police said the attack occurred. | Google |
Just after midnight last Wednesday, Louie Christopher and two women left a bar near Wrigley Field. The four men followed them out, he said.
“Earlier in the night they were hitting on the girls and the girls were not interested,” Christopher remembered. “So they threw peanuts at us. Never seen them before in our lives.”
When Christopher and the women reached a parking lot near Newport and Clark, the men allegedly attacked. “We didn’t see them till we got to the car,” Christopher said last night. “They came at us for no reason. We were walking to the car to get out of Wrigley and they caught us in a parking lot. Basically stalking us.”
Christopher said, “There was a scuffle first. I threw some punches but then was jumped. The girls were hit trying to get them off me.”
At some point, another man jumped in to try to help, according to Christopher. “The attackers ran from the scene and were chased down by [the other man] and one of the girls.”
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| Left to right: Marin; Melendez; and Rodarte | Chicago Police Dept |
Ceasar Rodarte, 29, of the Avondale neighborhood; 24-year-old Alfred Melendez of Houston, and 24-year-old Luis Marin of Elizabeth, NJ, were arrested in the 3500 block of North Sheffield. Each is charged with four counts of battery causing physical harm. They were released on their own recognizance. The fourth man was never found.
“They gave me a concussion and I’m bruised up everywhere,” Christopher said. “I was hit more than 30 times and I was completely unconscious.” He lost three teeth in the attack and was hospitalized at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, according to police.
A 28-year-old woman from Des Plaines and a 27-year-old woman from the Irving Park neighborhood were also injured, according to police records. A Waukegan man, the stranger who intervened, is also listed as a victim. Police did not provide an age for him.
Among the accused, only Rodarte was treated for an injury, according to police. He was taken to Thorek Hospital for a cut to his head.
Rodarte, Melendez, and Marin are due back in court on June 12. “I hope they throw the book at them,” Christopher said. “We’re all pressing charges.”
