Man accused of punching shopper at Algonquin grocery store gets probation

A man convicted of punching a shopper at an Algonquin grocery store in 2022 was sentenced Thursday to 180 days in the county jail and 30 months of felony probation and ordered to undergo an anger management evaluation.

Arthur Gage Jr., 42, pleaded guilty in September to aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, a Class 3 felony, according to the sentencing order signed by Judge Tiffany Davis filed in McHenry County court.

Gage, who has home addresses listed both in Carpentersville and Woodridge in court records, was accused of punching a man, fracturing his nose and bruising his face on Easter Sunday in 2022.

In asking for probation, Gage’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Kim Messer, said the man had hit Gage’s car with his hand as he walked past it while it was parked in the fire zone outside Jewel-Osco at 103 S. Randall Road. Messer said that was caught on surveillance camera.

Gage then followed the man into the store “to confront him,” and words were exchanged; the man made a racial slur and “possibly some threats. Mr. Gage reacted to that,” Messer said. She said Gage, who cares for his elderly father and drives him to dialysis three times a week, will pay the man restitution. She said this is an occurrence not likely to ever happen again, and that Gage has said he doesn’t understand why he hit the man.

“He says it doesn’t make any sense,” Messer said.

In asking for three years in prison, Assistant State’s Attorney Justin Neubauer also pointed to the incident as having “no rhyme or reason.”

“People don’t expect to go to the store on Easter Sunday and experience this type of violence,” Neubauer said.

The prosecutor also noted other offenses of which Gage has been convicted. After this incident at Jewel, he was charged with attempted identity theft, a criminal misdemeanor, pleaded guilty in September and is currently on conditional discharge, authorities said.

Only months before the Jewel incident, on Jan. 17, 2022, Gage was accused of gouging the driver’s side front and rear doors of a Toyota Corolla with an unknown object, causing $500 to $10,000 in damage, according to the criminal complaint. He did not know the owner of the car, Neubauer said. In that case, Gage was convicted of criminal damage to property, a Class 4 felony, and was sentenced to 18 months of conditional discharge and 180 days in the county jail, which was stayed. He also was ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution to the car’s owner, court records show.

Before learning his sentence on Thursday, Gage said, “I would like to extend my sincere apologies.”

Davis, who made her decision after reading four letters written on Gage’s behalf from church members and an ex-girlfriend, as well as an impact statement from the victim, thanked Gage and said his apology meant a lot.