Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― A man was charged late Thursday in the violent attack on a rookie firefighter on a fashionable stretch of Halsted Street in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Brian Ruiz, 20, of the 2100 block of North Sheffield Avenue, was charged with two counts of aggravated battery -- one count for causing great bodily harm and a second for battery in a public place, according to a Chicago Police release. Ruiz was also charged with possession of fake identification.

In court Friday, bond was set at $300,000 and a preliminary hearing was set for Aug. 26 in North Felony Court (Br. 42) at 2452 W. Belmont, according to Cook County State's Attorney's office spokesman Andy Conklin.

Ruiz's attorney, Andrew Jester, said Ruiz was only protecting himself. Jester said Jones started the altercation and even took off his shirt as he challenged his client to fight.

Jester said Jones, 24, even spat on Ruiz when Ruiz offered a handshake to keep the tension from escalating. Jester described the incident as "mutual combat."

But assistant Cook County State's Attorney Erin Antonietti said Ruiz was ruthless when he went after Jones after a verbal altercation became physical at Halsted and Dickens.

Ruiz, 20, of the 2100 block of North Sheffield, repeatedly threw punches and stomped and kicked the off-duty firefighter's face, Antonietti said. Recovered from the incident were a pair of bloody sneakers authorities say belonged to Ruiz.

Neither Jester nor Antonietti said what prompted the fight.

A second man, Daniel Vanoni, 20, of the 6200 block of West Berenice Avenue, was charged with two misdemeanors -- displaying another person's identification and underage drinking.

The 24-year-old firefighter, Matt Jones, is improving and "doing good," Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said Friday morning. He was initially listed in critical, but stable, condition at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, authorities said.

The off-duty firefighter was attacked about 4 a.m. Wednesday at Halsted Street and Dickens Avenue, just west of Oz Park, authorities said.

Near North District police officers traveling north on Halsted Street heard a loud "verbal disturbance" near Dickens. One of the arresting officers saw a man allegedly "aggressively stomping with his right foot on the head of the victim" while the other suspect allegedly stood over the victim watching, according to police.

Officers allegedly saw the suspect walk away from the firefighter after allegedly causing severe trauma to his head. The suspect allegedly then turned around and aggressively approached the firefighter again, kicking him in the head with his right foot.

Both men were arrested and pictures of the one man's bloody shoes and fists were taken, police said.

Police learned the men were allegedly drinking at Beaumont Bar & Grill at 2020 N. Halsted St. prior to the incident. The man who allegedly watched the beating told police he had too much to drink and was unable to stop the attack, according to police.

Police also allegedly confiscated a fake Michigan driver's license from the man who reportedly beat the firefighter. The man admitted to using it to get into Beaumont, police said.

Police said the man who watched the incident had bloodshot eyes and smelled strongly of alcohol. He allegedly told the other suspect "let's go" as the officers approached to interview them.

Jones was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center with "trauma," according to Fire Media Affairs spokesman Quention Curtis. The victim suffered a shattered trachea, broken nose and internal bleeding, according to a law enforcement source.

The beating damaged at least one of his lungs and caused other internal injuries along with cuts and bruises on his face and the rest of his body, another source said.

The attack on Jones is not related to an spate of robberies and assaults in Lincoln Park and Lakeview, which has put neighbors on edge for the past three weeks.

Most of the attacks occurred in an area bounded by Halsted Street on the west, Lake Shore Drive on the east, Fullerton Parkway on the north and Armitage Avenue on the south. But one of them occurred as far north as Halsted Street and Buckingham Place in Boystown, and two more happened the same morning as Jones was attacked, both near Clark Street and Belmont Avenue.

In all the attacks, the victims were young men, and they were beaten and robbed.

In the wake of those attacks, more Chicago Police officers will patrol the streets of the two north lakefront neighborhoods between midnight and dawn. A spokesman said shift will be modified to put more officers where recent crimes occurred.

The STNG Wire contributed to this report.

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