Man recalls beating at child's birthday party

More than two years after he lost an eye in a fight at a 2-year-old's birthday party, Robert Steele says he can't escape the memory of being kicked in the face with a metal-tipped cowboy boot.

“I still remember it as if it just happened yesterday,” he testified Tuesday. “It plays over and over in my head every day.”

Steele, 34, who lives in Lake Geneva now but had lived in Gurnee, took the witness stand in McHenry County court to testify against his brother-in-law, Boguslaw “Bob” Czapla, of Elmwood Park, who is charged with felony mob action and aggravated battery. Steele identified Czapla, 39, as one of three men who attacked him at a niece's birthday party on July 19, 2008, at a relative's garage in Huntley.

Although Steele admitted to drinking 15 to 20 beers from a keg at the party, he said there was nothing hazy about his recollection of Czapla's black cowboy boot striking his face as he tried to protect himself. The injury to his right eye was so severe, Steele said, doctors had to replace it with a prosthetic.

“My whole body went numb head, face, everything,” he said.

Steele said the brawl happened after an argument over Chicago baseball, and after Czapla made a rude remark about his children.

“He came toward me and struck me in the jaw. He just came right after me,” Steele testified. “I didn't even see it coming.”

Steele said he tried to retreat from a driveway in front of the home through a door inside the garage. But Czapla's brother and another man jumped in and began “just kicking me all over,” he said.

Steele testified that he was sitting on stairs leading from the garage to inside the home with his arms covering his head from the blows when he looked up and saw Czapla's metal-tipped cowboy boot coming toward his face.

Afterward, Steele said, Czapla's brother chased him and his wife to their car wielding a chair over his head and then threatened them with an 8-foot pole.

Cross examination by Czapla's defense attorney centered on how much Steele had to drink and a police statement he signed attributing the kick to Czapla's brother.

Steele said his “head was still ringing” when he incorrectly told police that Czapla's brother had been wearing the boots that struck him. A paramedic also testified that Steele said someone kicked him in the eye, although he didn't identify him.

“I was bleeding profusely,” Steele said. “I was all messed up.”

Czapla's brother, Jaroslaw F. “Jerry” Czapla of Huntley, pleaded guilty last year to mob action and was sentenced to six months in jail. He also agreed to pay Steele $100,000 in an insurance settlement.

A third man charged in the beating, Maciej Trojnar of Elmwood Park, remains a fugitive, according to McHenry County court records.

The trial resumes Wednesday.