Four arrested in Elgin bar brawl
An early Thursday morning brawl at a new downtown Elgin bar sent four to jail and one to the hospital.
According to police, Tyler C. Gustafson, 25, and his friends were asked to leave Roadhouse, on the 200 block of East Prairie Street, at 1:40 a.m. because he kept ignoring staff's repeated requests to stop turning his hat to the right.
"At times it can be construed as a gang sign but with this group of people I can't say," said Elgin Police Lt. Sean Rafferty. "Sometimes it's a fashion statement. Other times it's something related to a gang."
Security said the group could stay until after they finished their drinks, police said. At that point, they began arguing with security guards, with Gustafson flashing gang signs, then threatening to come back and shoot the bar up, Rafferty said.
Gustafson punched and kicked an employee, with four others from his group joining in to attack a pair of other staff members, reports said.
Charged with aggravated battery were Elgin residents Gustafson, of the 600 block of Ludlow Avenue, Henry R. Santana-Torres, 30, and his younger brother Harry, 29, both of the 400 block of South Edison Street, and their roommate, Fernando Pou-Torres, 27.
One employee was treated for his injuries at Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin, Rafferty said.
During a bond hearing Friday morning, Gustafson, the Santana-Torres brothers and Pou-Torres denied they were gang members.
"I don't know why we got arrested," Henry Santana-Torres said.
Kane County Judge Bruce W. Lester set Harry Santana-Torres' bond at $50,000; Gustafson's at $20,000; Pou-Torres' at $17,000; and Henry Santana-Torres' at $15,000.
Gustafson was released from jail on bond later Thursday. Pou-Torres and both Santana-Torres brothers remained in custody at the Kane County jail.
All four are due back in court Thursday at the Kane County Judicial Center.
If found guilty of the more serious charge, the Santana-Torres brothers, Gustafson and Pou-Torres would face between two and 10 years in prison.