A Carpentersville man is facing felony aggravated battery charges after an argument inside a downtown East Dundee bar allegedly escalated into a physical fight outside in which one man was seriously injured, police said.
Alexander Hondros, 24, was arrested in connection with the Jan. 21 incident that took place sometime before 10 p.m. at Calendo’s Corner at 302 N. River St.
According to East Dundee police reports, the situation allegedly began when Hondros and another man got involved in a verbal altercation with a 52-year-old man and his 32-year-old girlfriend, resulting in all four being asked to leave the bar. The couple was injured when the fight became physical outside the business.
A bartender at Calendo’s told officers that the female victim had been arguing with someone on her phone prior to the fight and that the male victim, who appeared intoxicated, arrived a short time later and began yelling at her, the police report said.
According to the bartender’s account, Hondros and another man asked the woman is she was OK, prompting the male victim to tell them to stay out of it and provoking a verbal argument, police said. The bartender told all four people to leave, according to the report.
A witness seated outside in his car told police he saw the group leave the bar and observed Hondros walk up to the couple, punch the male victim in the face and knock him to the ground, the police report said. He then reportedly struck the woman before getting on top of the man and repeatedly punching him in the face, the police report said.
The 52-year-old man was treated at Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin for broken facial bones and swelling behind his left eye, the police report said.
Hondros left the scene before police arrived but was quickly located, the report said.
The second man kicked out of the bar with Hondros told police he tried to deescalate the situation and described the man who was beaten as being the initial aggressor in the situation, the report said.
After Hondros was arrested and taken to the police station, he was transported to Sherman Hospital to be treated for a laceration to the back of his head.
Video footage from a surveillance camera at The Depot confirmed the witness account of Hondros following the couple out of the bar, striking the male victim first and then continuing to hit him while he was on the ground, the police report said.
It also showed that the woman hit Hondros in defense of the male victim, which led to Hondros allegedly striking her, the rerport said.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
