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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowPolice say a diner skipping out on a bill assaulted a downtown restaurant owner who confronted him, leaving the proprietor hospitalized in critical condition.
The attack that took place Tuesday afternoon at Acapulco Joe's, 365 N. Illinois St., left 57-year-old owner Grant Redmond unconscious with a blood clot on his brain that required surgery.
Police say his attacker tried to pay for a roughly $40 tab with a credit card that had been stolen a day earlier. When it was declined, the man said he needed to go withdraw some cash, but Redmond followed him outside, where witnesses say he was attacked. After the attack, the man fled on foot.
A woman who said she had been on a blind date with the assailant remained behind and told officers the only name she knew the man by was Maurice. Police said they later learned that the woman did not provide them with her real name.
Police have video of the suspect and believe they know his identity.
Acapulco Joe's was founded in 1960 by Joe Rangel, a Mexican immigrant. Redmond bought the restaurant in 2013.
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