Jury clears Bolingbrook man of attempted murder

A 25-year-old Bolingbrook man has been cleared of trying to kill a man he claimed was caught trying to molest a 3-year-old, but faces probation or prison in the severe beating in Aurora, authorities said.

A jury deliberated for about seven hours late Wednesday before it convicted Jesus Arzola in the Feb. 11, 2006, attack, which has left his victim disfigured and disabled.

Even though he was found not guilty of attempted murder, Arzola faces up to seven years when he is sentenced March 20 for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and other offenses.

"We beat the most serious charges," Fred Morelli Jr., an Aurora defense attorney, said Thursday. "But he was absolutely not guilty … there was no proof."

Arzola was staying with his two brothers in the 900 block of Fenton Street in Aurora, when the trio came home at 4 a.m. and found 23-year-old Melesio Salgado in bed with the child, according to testimony at Arzola's trial, which began Monday.

Salgado was attacked in the bedroom and outside, where he was punched, kicked and hit with a 5-foot-long, 2-by-10 board, witnesses testified.

Salgado was in a coma and bedridden for months while he relearned to eat, walk and talk again. He still has trouble with his memory and balance, and his face had to be reconstructed with screws, pins and plates, he testified.

He was never charged with the alleged sexual assault and police found no evidence to back up Arzola's allegations, said Andrew Horvat, a Kane County prosecutor.

"Obviously, he was upset by something, it just wasn't what he said had happened," Horvat said.

Arzola's brothers, Jorge and Jose, are awaiting trial on attempted murder, aggravated battery and mob action.

Morelli said he intends to ask Judge Philip DiMarzio to sentence Arzola, an ex-Marine who served in Iraq and Kuwait, to probation.