Man stabs employee after trying to steal beer from Bridgeport market: prosecutors

A man was being held without bond after he allegedly stabbed one store employee and punched another Thursday afternoon while trying to steal beer from a store in the Bridgeport neighborhood on the South Side.

Raul Romero, 47, of the South Loop, allegedly entered the Cermak Fresh Market in the 3000 block of South Halsted Street at 3:07 p.m. and tried to hide beer bottles under his coat, according to Chicago police and Cook County prosecutors.

When a 24-year-old man who worked at the market confronted him Romero punched him in the lip, officials said. Other store employees then removed Romero from the market.

Shortly after, a 38-year-old man who worked at the market went outside and saw that the tires on his vehicle had been slashed, police said. The man then realized that Romero was behind him and had stabbed him in the back and arm, according to prosecutors.

Other employees restrained Romero until police arrived and he was taken into custody. He appeared to be intoxicated at the time of the incident, prosecutors said.

The 38-year-old was treated for stab wounds at the University of Chicago Medical Center. The younger man did not require medical attention.

Romero, who had no prior felony convictions, appeared in Central Bond Court at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse Saturday. He was ordered held without bond.

He is set to appear in court again Thursday.