Arrest made in Jeff Park center stabbing; no charges in shooting outside area bar in May
by BRIAN NADIG
A woman has been charged with a recent stabbing at the Jefferson Park Transit Center, while no arrests have been made in connection with the suspected murder of a Northwest Side man inside his home in April and a shooting outside a Gladstone Park bar in May.
A 19-year-old woman was arrested at about 1:35 a.m. Saturday, July 15, in connection with an incident two days earlier in which she allegedly stabbed a 39-year-old woman in the chest while the two women were arguing, according to 16th (Jefferson Park) District police.
The stabbing occurred at about 12:50 a.m. Thursday, July 13, at the transit center, 4917 N. Milwaukee Ave., police said.
The injured woman reported that she did not know the other woman and that she had been talking to a man before the other woman started arguing with her, police said. The woman was transported Lutheran General and was listed in stable condition, police said.
After the incident, the suspect reportedly was seen fleeing on foot toward Veterans Square shopping center at Milwaukee and Higgins avenues, where she was arrested two days later. Officers made the arrest after a homeless man contacted police and reported that the woman was in the 4800 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, police said.
The suspect, who was identified by police as Becky Spelz, of the 3100 block of West Ainslie Street, was charged with aggravated battery, police said.
Meanwhile, police are continuing to investigate the April 7 death of a 75-year-old man whose body was found inside his home in the 5000 block of North Oak Park Avenue. The man’s body was found on the living room floor with a plastic bag over his head after a fire had damaged the house, according to police. Initially police classified the incident as a death investigation but later reclassified it as a homicide investigation.
Police have received reports that transients may have been living there, and it is suspected that the victim knew the assailants, according to police.
Also in the district, no one has been charged in connection with a fight at about 4 a.m. Sunday, May 21, outside of Zachary’s for Cocktails tavern, 5368 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Zachary’s is one of the last liquor establishments in the area to have a 4 a.m. license, which is extended to 5 a.m. on Saturday nights. Nearly all area bars have a 2 a.m. license.
16th District commander William Looney said that the initial investigation determined that those involved were mutual combatants, resulting in no charges being filed.
Three men were shot, and one was stabbed during the incident. There were reports of rival motorcycle gangs outside the bar.
In other news, police are investigating a recent incident in which Amazon packages were reported stolen from a porch in the 5000 block of West Wilson Avenue. Police have received pictures that a neighbor took showing a man reportedly taking the packages to his car.
Also, two men who reportedly were living in an alley in the 5200 block of West Belmont Avenue left the area after they were charged in connection with threatening another man during an incident in the alley at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday, July 9.
