South Side Man Faces Involuntary Manslaughter Charge for July Fight

A Brighton Park man was charged with involuntary manslaughter during a fight with another man in July, Chicago police said.

Phillip M. Levato, 48, of the 2500 block of West 36th Street, appeared for a bond hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Friday, where bail was set at $100,000.

Levato was arrested after he was identified as the man who punched 45-year-old Kristopher Weiss on July 22, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement, police said.

According to the charges, the men came to blows when LeVato and another man drove up to Weiss as he was leaving a bar in the 3000 block of South Normal Avenue around 11:45 p.m. The passenger in Levato’s truck jumped out and began arguing with Weiss in the street.

Phillip Levato, 48 | Cook County Sheriff

When Levato tried to separate the two, the passenger punched Weiss in the face, who stumbled but didn’t fall. Prosecutors said Levato threw a punch after Weiss cursed him, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Levato’s blow knocked Weiss to the pavement, where Weiss hit his head. Levator and the other man drove off leaving Weiss bleeding and unconscious in the street.

Weiss died a few days later at Stroger Hospital. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Weiss’s death a homicide on Aug. 30. Police said Levato turned himself in and was charged accordingly, according to the Sun-Times.

Levato’s next court date is Sept. 21.