Former “American Idol” contestant Haley Reinhart was found guilty of striking a bouncer during an altercation at a Palatine bar in Cook County Court in Rolling Meadows Monday February 26, 2018.
Haley Reinhart took the witness stand in her own defense during the 90-minute trial in Cook County Circuit Court Rolling Meadows.
According to testimony Monday, Haley Reinhart was asked to leave Lamplighter Inn Tavern & Grille. A bouncer was trying to escort Reinhart out of the bar, when she struck him in the upper abdomen. She tried to flee, but then struck the bouncer in the eye while bar staff and security personnel awaited the arrival of police, and were restraining another patron.
VIEWER DISCRETION: “American Idol” alum Haley Reinhart’s friend was choked so hard that his entire face was reddish-purple during an asphyxiation/strangulation maneuver that also caused Reinhart’s male friend to collapse to the floor, before Haley Reinhart was arrested for allegedly punching a bouncer.
A video previously published on Arlington Cardinal (and directly above) shows Haley Reinhart on the second floor and on a staircase at Lamplighter at the same time patron Alan Chislof was being restrained with a dangerous choke hold known as a “carotid restraint” or a “sleeper hold.” The choke hold is a form of strangulation that compresses one or both carotid arteries responsible for critical blood flow to the brain. The technique, temporarily applied, can cause cerebral ischemia and a temporary hypoxic condition in brain tissue. Alan Chislof, a Wheeling resident, was with Reinhart’s group when security personnel were restraining or escorting both of them out of Lamplighter.
In the video, Haley Reinhart was being escorted away while the “carotid restraint” was being delivered to Chislof, and also while several Lamplighter personal were restraining Chislof — holding his arms and body. In the video, it appears that Chislof passed out from the carotid restraint. That’s when Palatine police say that Chislof was punched with a closed fist in the head (not shown on video). One Lamplighter staffer shouts to Reinhart, “Get f*ing lost. You hit me in the f*ing face.”
Lamplighter security staffer Adam Sobanski is accused of putting the choke hold on Alan Chislof while other bouncers were escorting Reinhart out of the bar. Palatine police arrested Adam Sobanski and charged him with two counts of Felony Aggravated Battery after reviewing video and investigating the case — about 12 days after Lamplighter incident occurred on Saturday July 8, 2018.
Alan Chislof, has also filed suit against Sobanski and the Lamplighter Inn Tavern & Grille. His attorney, Mark A. Brown, a partner with Lane & Lane LLC in Chicago said in July 2017 that his client suffered a concussion and had a cut above his left eye that required stitches. Brown added that Chislof had broken blood vessels in his eyes. Palatine police say that when the Chislof fell to the floor, Sobanski struck the him in the face repeatedly with a closed first, causing extensive injuries to the victim’s face and head.
Reinhart “really hauled off and punched him.”
— Judge James Karahalios
Cook County Judge James Karahalios called Haley Reinhart’s testimony “evasive, argumentative and sometimes implausible” after he listened to her testimony. He ruled Haley Reinhart guilty of battery.
Reinhart denied hitting the bartender in the eye, but under questioning from the Palatine village prosecutor, she said she might have made contact with him accidentally, and added she didn’t recall hitting the Lamplighter staffer in the eye.
Adam Sobanski is awaiting trial on the felony criminal battery charges.
See also …
Arlington Cardinal Lamplighter Bar “Security” Man Charged with Felony Aggravated Battery After Beating, Choking Friend of Haley Reinhart
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