A Woodstock man has been sentenced to probation after he attacked another person, leaving the victim seriously injured in the ICU after being unconscious for 10 minutes at a bar in Fox Lake.
The Fox Lake Police Department responded around 10:15 p.m. on June 21 to J’s Sports Bar and Grill, 816 Grand Avenue, for a report of a person who had been knocked out.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Emily Shanley-Roberts said at the time that officers arrived and made contact with Dustin A. Garbacz, 39, of Woodstock.
Garbacz reported he was involved in an argument with another man and that the man was threatening him.
Garbacz said he got into his car but then exited, at which time the victim pushed him and Garbacz “accidentally” elbowed him in the face.
Shanley-Roberts said Garbacz’s story changed a few times before he finally admitted that he punched the victim in the face.
The victim was unconscious when officers arrived. He had suffered a laceration to his head and was unconscious for approximately 10 minutes.
The victim eventually regained consciousness and was transported by ambulance to Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry, Shanley-Roberts said.
He was diagnosed with a brain bleed and a skull fracture and admitted to the intensive care unit.
Doctors reported that he was hit so hard that he had a seizure.
Shanley-Roberts said officers later interviewed him but he was highly confused and had no memory of the events that led to him being hospitalized.
A witness told police that Garbacz and the victim were arguing when Garbacz got into his car and appeared to be leaving.
Garbacz suddenly and quickly exited his car and attacked the victim, the witness said.
Shanley-Roberts said the witness reported Garbacz punched the victim three times in the face, which caused him to fall and hit his head. He was unconscious for approximately 10 minutes.
Garbacz’s wife was present during the incident and she apologized to the victim after he regained consciousness, saying that her husband never should have punched him, according to Shanley-Roberts.
“[The] defendant and victim were both intoxicated, but [the victim] ended up with a brain bleed and hospitalized in the ICU because the defendant decided to punch him in the face multiple times instead of leaving the area or simply staying in his car,” Shanley-Roberts said.
Garbacz was charged with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and aggravated battery in a public place, both Class 3 felonies.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain him pending trial, arguing he poses a danger to the community.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the petition during a detention hearing where Garbacz cried in court after the judge issued his ruling.
Court records show Garbacz entered into a negotiated plea deal with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office last month where he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, a Class 3 felony.
Garbacz was sentenced to 24 months of probation and 100 hours of public service. He was ordered to pay $50 in restitution to the victim.
A jail sentence of 180 days was stayed and will not be required as long as he complies with the terms of his probation, court documents show.
Garbacz was also ordered to have no contact with the victim or the bar where the incident happened and obtain a substance abuse evaluation and recommended treatment.
He was released from the Lake County Jail upon the plea.
Garbacz also pleaded guilty in McHenry County in April 2022 and was sentenced to probation for claiming he had COVID-19 and coughing in a sheriff’s deputy’s face during an arrest.