An Uptown man has been sentenced to 250 days in jail for threatening 46th Ward Ald. James Cappleman with a table during a dispute in September, according to court records. Tony Landers, 58, received another 250 days for battering a 62-year-old woman in the neighborhood less than a week after the Cappleman incident.
Cappleman told the Chicago Tribune that he went to the 4700 block of North Racine on the evening of September 18 to address complaints of at least a dozen people drinking and causing a disturbance on the corner. Only one man was on the scene when he arrived, and a small table was on the sidewalk.
Cappleman said he told the man the table didn’t belong there, and he took it with him. As the alderman turned a corner, he encountered about eight more men, including Landers, who laid claim to the table, according to the alderman’s account.
“Cappleman said his husband called 911 as he continued to hold onto the table. That’s when one of the men put his arm around Cappleman’s neck. At some point, the table broke in half and Cappleman said his husband believes he was struck with a part of the table,” the paper reported.
“He thought they were hitting me with it, that they hit me repeatedly. I had so much adrenaline going, I honestly can’t tell you,” Cappleman said. “He could’ve had a knife. … That’s not the way I want to die.”
CPD dispatch records indicate that whoever called 911 about the incident said the alderman had been attacked and identified Tony Landers by name. But Landers was only charged with misdemeanor assault, which legally means he was only accused of threatening Cappleman, not making contact with him.
Landers stayed in police custody for 47 hours before being cut loose after the Cappleman clash, CPD records show. Less than 72 hours later, he was arrested again on the 4600 block of North Broadway.
Prosecutors said during a bond court hearing that Landers pushed a senior citizen in her face with his open hand while saying, “I’m going to knock the sh*t out of you.”
Police initially sought a felony charge of aggravated battery of a senior citizen, but prosecutors only pursued a misdemeanor battery count.
Judge Donald Panarese, Jr. sentenced Landers in both cases on January 6, according to court records. He gave Landers 112 days credit for the time he spent in jail before pleading guilty.
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