Stickney Man Breaks Elderly Dad's Toe By Beating Him With a Stool: Prosecutor

STICKNEY, IL -- An 85-year-old man escaped his enraged son by putting his profoundly disabled daughter in her wheelchair and walking to a water reclamation plant where he asked an employee to call police, prosecutors said in court.

The son, Richard Bulich, 57, was arrested after he allegedly beat his elderly father with a metal stool on Aug. 1. The charge was upgraded from misdemeanor domestic battery to a felony charge of aggravated battery of a senior citizen.

An assistant state’s attorney from the Cook County Special Prosecutions Bureau told the judge that Bulich got into an argument with his father that escalated into a physical confrontation. Bulich punched the elderly man injuring his shoulder, then hit his dad with a metal stool and breaking his toe.

Richard Bulich, 57 | Cook County Sheriff

Bulich would not allow his father to leave until the next day, the special prosecutor said. The elderly man put his profoundly disabled daughter in her wheelchair. He pushed his daughter to the Stickney water reclamation plant a few blocks from where the elderly man lived in the 4900 block of South Laramie Avenue in unincorporated Stickney.

When the elderly man arrived, he told a secretary to lock the door and call 911. Police arrived shortly after and took Bulich into custody. In addition to his broken toe, Bulich’s father suffered severe bruising to his shoulder.

The special prosecutor said that she interviewed Bulich’s sister’s caregiver, who mentioned that Bulich may have a substance abuse problem. Bulich nodded in the affirmative in court.

“I don’t want you to nod anymore,” Cook County Judge Peter Felice said.

The assistant public defender told the judge that Bulich is a veteran of the U.S. Army, who was recently diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.

Bulich has a pending case for criminal damage to property, stemming from an incident in June. According to court records, his father locked him out of the house after Bulich broke the patio screen door and patio furniture. Bulich was involuntarily admitted for a psychiatric evaluation.

The special prosecutor asked the judge for an order of protection on the father’s behalf before Judge Felice set bail at $150,000. Felice also ordered Bulich to receive drug treatment while he is in Cook County Jail, and to submit to weekly drug testing should he bond out.

“Your father doesn’t deserve that,” the judge said.

Bulich’s next court hearing is Sept. 8 in Bridgeview.