Crime, Lawyer of the Day, Violence

Lawyer of the Day: It's Merely A Flesh Wound

This Chicago prosecutor saved the day, but took a beating in the process.

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Every once in a while, we cover special Lawyers of the Day who earn spots on ATL not for embarrassing goofs, but for making unique attempts do the right thing — from outside the courtroom. Often, these stories end happily, like the attorney who chased down some cell phone thieves.

Earlier this week, a tipster told us about a heroic Chicago prosecutor who helped some imperiled strangers, but wound up getting stabbed and beaten in the process. Thankfully, police have arrested a suspect. No good deed goes unpunished, but looks like the odds aren’t much better for bad ones either….

This weekend, the Chicago Tribune wrote about an unnamed Cook County prosecutor was taking an evening stroll to test out some new fishing equipment with a friend, when he saw a group of men chasing after two other men. The guys getting chased were allegedly being harassed for being gay, and they were screaming for help. According to Teddy Wozny — a friend of the prosecutor, who later found the prosecutor bleeding on the ground — here’s what happened:

[The prosecutor] yelled “Knock the f— off!” They wheeled around and immediately ran right at him.

“[The prosecutor/victim is] not a small guy. He’s 6 feet, 230 pounds, so he grabbed the first kid and got him in a choke hold, and was trying to keep that guy between him and the second guy,” Wozny said. “Then he slipped on the grass and went down, and they got the best of him.”

The victim was hit with a beer bottle while on the ground but was still conscious. He told Wozny he yelled to his attackers, “OK, OK … you made your point. It’s done.” One of them said, “No this isn’t done,” and that’s when his friend believes he got stabbed, according to Wozny.

Jesus H. Prosecuting Christ. What a way to take a bite out of crime — only to have crime bite back. The 31-year-old prosecutor was cut near the left eye, on his side, and under his right arm.

Police have arrested 21-year-old Edgar Diaz and charged him with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery. This young gentleman’s future looks awfully dim. Allegedly stabbing a prosecutor who was trying to break up your other alleged crime in progress? That’s not a great case to catch.

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Man charged with beating, stabbing prosecutor in Lakeview [Chicago Tribune]

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