Bar employee charged in brawl that involved Haley Reinhart and friends
Editor's Note: The linked TMZ.com video includes profanity and violence.
An employee of the Lamplighter Inn Tavern and Grille in Palatine is charged with choking a 30-year-old Wheeling man during a brawl involving pop singer Haley Reinhart and several of her friends.
Adam Sobanski, 32, of Palatine is charged with two counts of aggravated battery, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Probation is also available.
He was ordered held on $45,000 bail and next appears in court on Aug. 10.
Prosecutors say handprints were visible on the neck of 30-year-old Alan Chislof, who also had a concussion, broken nose, black eyes and other injuries in the early-morning brawl of July 8.
According to Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Gates, Sobanski "rushed the victim, putting him in a headlock" after a bouncer argued with Chislof, who was at the bar with a group that included his girlfriend as well as Reinhart, a Wheeling native and past "American Idol" finalist.
Sobanski then began choking the man with one hand while pushing him against the wall, Gates said. Other bouncers attempted to separate Sobanski from Chislof, but Sobanski pushed Chislof to the floor and hit him with his fist, Gates said.
The bar's video surveillance and cellphone video "clearly depicts" Sobanski choking the man, whose face becomes discolored, Gates said.
A TMZ.com video shows Chislof being restrained by several men. It also shows Sobanski, in a purple shirt, with his hand at Chislof's throat.
Mark Brown, Chislof's attorney, said in an email that "there's no evidence in the video that any bouncers tried to separate Sobanski from the victim while he was choking him."
Prosecutors say Sobanski admitted to a history of "being physical" and prior episodes of choking bar patrons. He also told authorities he had been demoted due to previous behavior.
The only one charged the night of the brawl was Reinhart. A member of the security staff said she struck him in the head with a fist. She next appears in court on misdemeanor battery charges on Aug. 2.