Man charged with attacking River North security guard

A man has been charged with attacking a security guard early Sunday outside a River North condo building.

Matthew De Leon, 23, faces one count each of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, aggravated battery in a public place and aggravated battery of a peace officer, all felonies, according to Chicago Police.

About 2:15 a.m., the security guard, a 46-year-old woman, walked up to the man, who had apparently vomited and was lying on the sidewalk outside the building at Franklin and Ontario, police said.

She asked the man to leave as three other people, apparently friends of the suspect, came out of the building, surveillance video shows.

The man, identified as De Leon, then threw a water bottle at the woman and punched her in the face. The security guard refused medical attention at the scene, authorities said.

The three friends did not try to stop the attack, but instead walked away with the suspect, the video shows.

De Leon, who lives in the Portage Park neighborhood, was arrested Tuesday at the Wentworth District station, police said. He was scheduled for a Wednesday bond hearing.

Violence responder Dawn Valenti of Chicago Survivors said the man turned himself in Tuesday morning, emphasizing that she “did not condone what he did.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up by Asad Khan, president of the board for the 630 N. Franklin Building, where the security guard, identified as Zoa Stigler, works. He says she “was attacked by a thug as she was doing her job by protecting our building early Sunday morning, which happened to be Mother’s Day. He fractured her right eye socket and also the bridge of her nose.”

He added that, “She was initially trying to help this thug by checking up on him to make sure he was doing all right as he was lying on the ground by the building.”

He said she even continued to do her job after the attack.

“Zoa is so dedicated and hardworking that in spite of being in pain and disoriented, she had the mindset of cleaning up the mess caused by this thug before being taken to the hospital,” Khan wrote.

The page, to help pay medical bills for the woman, had raised over $12,700 toward its goal of $20,000 by Tuesday afternoon.