Man arrested in brutal beating last year

by CYRYL JAKUBOWSKI

A man was arrested this month on felony aggravated battery charges for allegedly attacking a man with a baseball bat at about 2 a.m. Sunday, March 3, 2013, in the 5200 block of West Sunnyside Avenue, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and the 16th (Jefferson Park) District police.

The suspect was identified by the state’s attorney as Kenneth Keel, age 29, of the 5400 block of North Central Avenue. The suspect was arrested after an investigation by 16th District tactical officers Geoff Delderfield and Mike Hamideh, according to police.

The reported attack occurred after the 35-year-old man and his wife had attended an Our Lady of Victory Parish event, according to the state’s attorney. The woman reported that she and her husband were walking on Sunnyside and that her husband brushed up against the mirror of a minivan driven by a woman traveling eastbound, the state’s attorney said.

A passenger reportedly exited the vehicle carrying a baseball bat and struck the man several times in the head and the body, according to police. The man was treated for brain hemorrhage and a skull fracture at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital and was released after he came out of a three-day coma, according to the state’s attorney.

An outpouring of community support led to fund-raisers for the man and his family and the incident gathered substantial media attention. At a fund-raiser at the Portage Theater last year, it was announced that the man would recover from his injuries.

Officers arrested the suspect at about 2:40 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, in an alley of the 3200 block of North Kildare Avenue in the 17th (Albany Park) District, after police received a tip from a family member, according to the state’s attorney and police.