A man was charged late Tuesday night in the brutal attack on a River North security guard that was caught on camera outside a condo building over the weekend.
Matthew De Leon, 23, of the 4900 block of West Eddy Street, Chicago, is charged with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, aggravated battery in a public place and aggravated battery a peace officer.
De Leon is due in bond court on Wednesday.
In the video, security guard Zoa Stigler is shown being punched in the face. The guard says she now requires surgery after the attack.
“He fractured a bone right below my eye,” Stigler, a guard at the Six30 condo complex, told NBC 5. “He punched me and threw his water bottle all at the same time. I was expecting the water, not a punch.”
According to Stigler, she found the unidentified man nearly passed out and vomiting in front of the complex around 2 a.m., and when she asked him and his friends to move along, he allegedly punched her in the face without warning.
“He didn’t show any remorse. He didn’t say anything, and he just punched me,” she said.
The condo complex Stigler works at recently installed security cameras, citing an increase in foot traffic around the area’s bar scene, and the incident was caught on tape.
Stigler still faces a long road to recovery. She will also be off of work until her injuries heal.
“Unfortunately this neighborhood deals with these kinds of quality of life concerns on a pretty regular basis,” Ald. Brendan Reilly told NBC 5.
With a number of late-night bars in the area, the 42nd Ward’s alderman says he’s concerned with patrons in the area being overserved and will meet with the Department of Business Affairs and Licensing to map out a strategy.
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“A liquor license is a privilege and when you abuse that privilege it gets taken away,” Reilly said.
A police report has been filed in the incident, and police are investigating the attack. A GoFundMe campaign has also been started to help Stigler in her recovery.
