A River North man who shoved a partially paralyzed man into the street during a bizarre downtown confrontation over a dog has avoided prison time by entering a guilty plea.
Court records show that 27-year-old Tristan Block pleaded guilty Wednesday to aggravated battery causing great bodily harm. Cook County Judge Aleksandra Gillespie sentenced him to 30 months of probation and ordered him to complete 40 hours of community service. As conditions of probation, Block must provide a DNA sample to a law enforcement database, submit to random drug testing, and remain in Illinois unless granted court permission to travel, records show.
The charge stemmed from an incident on July 22, 2023, at the intersection of Ontario and Wells. Prosecutors said Block was seen chasing a golden retriever that had run into traffic and a passerby stopped to help. But after the dog was safely back in Block’s arms, the two men argued over whether Block was actually the dog’s owner, prosecutors claimed.
The quarrel escalated. Prosecutors said Block punched the man who helped him catch the dog and then hurled a leash at a woman who had briefly lent it to him. A 26-year-old man using a wheelchair came out of a nearby restaurant to check on the commotion but was not involved in the dispute, prosecutors said. That was about to change.
According to prosecutors, Block shoved the man in the chest, sending his wheelchair off the curb and tipping it backward. Officials said the victim’s head struck the pavement, leaving him bleeding and concussed. He sought treatment at a hospital and later reported that one of his hands, which already had limited mobility, went completely numb after the fall.
The entire incident was recorded by a city surveillance camera:
At the time of his initial court hearing, Block’s attorney, Hal Garfinkel, described the allegations as “troubling” and suggested that alcohol may have impaired his client’s judgment. He also noted that Block had never been arrested before.
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