Golf Club Attack At Evanston YMCA Leads To 2 Felony Charges: Cops

EVANSTON, IL — A golf club-wielding Evanston man who last month allegedly attacked another man as he walked out of the McGaw YMCA at 1000 Grove St. turned himself into police to face a pair of felony charges, more than two weeks after the incident.

John M. Hartigan, 47, of the 1500 block of Ridge Avenue, turned himself in on the night of April 10. Police said he was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery in a public way.

Around 3:40 p.m. on March 23, Hartigan attacked the man with a golf club "without provocation," according to police reports. He beat the man repeatedly across the back, causing some cuts before running away. There was at least one eyewitness to the incident.

Police reports indicate Hartigan and the man he allegedly struck knew each other – he knew him as "John" and gave police his address. Cops stopped by Hartigan's Ridge Avenue apartment building several times without being able to find him before he turned himself in on April 11.

Hartigan was being held under electronic monitoring and did not post a bond. He is due back in court in Skokie on May 25.