Naperville police arrest 4 in Thanksgiving fight outside bar
Naperville police said they arrested four people in a fight outside a downtown bar early Thursday morning during the waning hours of the “Black Wednesday” bar scene before Thanksgiving.
The arrests took place after a man was kicked out of Rizzo’s bar at 6 W. Jefferson Ave., police said. When that man began fighting with bar employees, police intervened and soon others joined in.
Naperville police Cmdr. Lou Cammiso said the fight was “typical” of the types of disturbances that occasionally pop up on high-volume bar nights, and it was a scenario the department was ready to handle with extra officers in the area.
“We’re not happy about fights downtown, but in some ways we prepare for them,” Cammiso said. “We handled it effectively. No injuries to citizens or officers, and that’s always a positive.”
Police said the incident began about 12:42 a.m. Thursday when Kevin James Knox, 21, of Oswego, “became combative” and started swearing at Rizzo’s employees who had kicked him out of the bar. Police said Knox fought with an employee and refused to leave, then fought further with officers and refused to cooperate.
He was Tased and has been charged with battery.
Sara Marie Pruitt, 21, of Oswego, got involved when she tried to pull away the hand of the officer who was using a Taser on Knox, police said. Pruitt, who police said was with Knox, continued to struggle with two more officers and has been charged with battery, according to a police report.
Police said another man, Derek Keith Ahlborn, 30, of Yorkville, tried to push past officers to those who were arresting Knox. Police said Adrian Luis Mendez, 35, of Plainfield, was arrested because he disobeyed officers who had shut down the area around Rizzo’s. Mendez has been charged with resisting a peace officer.
Before Thursday morning, police said they had responded to 31 fights in the first 10 months of the year, down from 39 during the same period last year.
The situation outside Rizzo’s was the only fight in downtown Naperville over the long Thanksgiving weekend, but police said they also arrested a man who was found early Thursday morning urinating in the doorway of Frankie’s Blue Room at 16 W. Chicago Ave. Aaron Perrino Nolan, 22, of Naperville, has been charged with disorderly conduct, battery and resisting arrest, according to a police report.