Man accused of punching 91-year-old man in Chinatown has history of violence against elderly

Yen Jit Wong would watch his grandchildren in the evening while his son worked. Wong and his wife cooked dinner — usually a fish dish that was a staple of his wife’s province in China — and played cards in their multigenerational home in Chinatown.

The 91-year-old emigrated from Hong Kong in the 1970s and built a career working in restaurants in his adopted neighborhood. He shared a home with his son’s family, each member chipping in to build a life on the Near South Side.

Now his family is gathered at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, taking turns sitting by his bedside after an unprovoked attack from a man with a history of violence.

“It’s a day-by-day situation,” said Wong’s granddaughter, Patricsa Wong. “He’s woken up a few times, but not for extended periods.”

In the middle of a normal day, Wong was walking home after having lunch with his son around noon Tuesday on Wentworth Avenue, the main business stretch in Chinatown populated with shops and restaurants. The two already had their mind on dinner and were talking about what to buy to prepare that night.

Wong’s son stepped out to buy some food, and Wong began walking home alone.

Around that time, Chicago police Sgt. Michael Bazarek had just left a downtown seminar and was looking for a cup of coffee when he saw a man walking down Wentworth, waving wildly and scaring people off the sidewalk. “He was acting out. He was not hurting anyone, but he was in a very threatening manner ... talking at the sky, talking at the sidewalk and frightening people.”

Bazarek said he didn't have a radio, so he started following the man for a block or two until the man suddenly punched Wong to the ground near 24th Street and kept on walking, "still ranting, still making wild gestures and pretty much speaking gibberish."

A garbage truck driver stopped to help Wong and called 911. He stayed by the man’s side until paramedics arrived. Bazarek said he followed the attacker and took him into custody with the help of a Cook County sheriff’s deputy. The suspect, Alexander Taylor, 45, was charged Thursday with three felony counts of aggravated battery.

Police gave no motive for the attack, and Bazarek told reporters it appeared to be "absolutely unprovoked."

Wong suffered a fractured clavicle, bruising and swelling on his head and face, according to a police report. He is unable to talk, eat or drink on his own, his family said.

Taylor has a number of convictions for other violent attacks, Cook County court records show, and has been evaluated in a psychiatric ward.

During a hearing Friday, prosecutors detailed erratic behavior by Taylor following his arrest. He smeared feces on the door of his cell, flooded his cell with toilet water and threatened to kill himself, digging his fingernails into his wrist. Taylor was not in court because he was hospitalized.

Judge Stephanie K. Miller ordered him held without bond, noting his criminal record and “continued combativeness toward police officers.” Taylor has failed to appear for past court hearings in other cases 13 times, prosecutors said. He was also charged with aggravated battery of a government employee. Prosecutors alleged he spit in the face of a detention aid while in custody.

The judge will revisit bail at a hearing Tuesday.

Taylor has previously been convicted of battering a senior citizen. He was sentenced in 2008 to five years for aggravated battery, according to Cook County court records. In that case, prosecutors said he attacked a nurse and a 60-year-old security guard during a stay in a psychiatric ward. Both lost consciousness.

He was also convicted of attempted murder in 1998 and sentenced to six years in prison, records show. Prosecutors said he cut someone with a knife in the hand, chest and shoulder. He also has a misdemeanor conviction on his record after prosecutors said he followed an individual and threw them to the ground.

As Wong’s family stands vigil in the hospital, they are struck by the randomness of how such a typical Tuesday ended the way it did.

“This is something the system needs to handle,” Patricsa Wong said. “If people have issues like these, we need to find some way to give them the help they need.”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-charges-chinatown-attack-20180920-story.html

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4084526&forum_id=2#36867202)

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(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4084526&forum_id=2#36870739)