A Crystal Lake teen who is a globally ranked skateboarder is accused of beating a person he knows with a skateboard at the Crystal Lake downtown train station and causing “significant injuries.”
Gabriel R. Schuch, 19, is charged with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and aggravated battery in a public place, both Class 3 felonies, according to court records and police. In court Thursday, his lawyer claimed the person allegedly beaten in this case had viciously attacked Schuch two years ago, and he was in fear for his life.
Assistant State’s Attorney Sawyer Schexnider, who argued Schuch remain in the county jail while awaiting trial, said the alleged victim was in the intensive care unit and suffered a fractured skull and brain bleed.
Schuch made a first court appearance Thursday, where Judge Christopher Harmon released Schuch from the county jail under strict conditions, including court supervision, GPS and an ankle monitor.
He sternly ordered Schuch to have no contact with the person he’s accused of beating, or with a witness, in any way, shape or form.
“Let me make this clear, Mr. Schuch. ... I would recommend you don’t even think about [the alleged victim] going forward,” Harmon said.
The alleged beating occurred at around midnight Wednesday night, police said.
Schuch’s attorney, George Kililis, told the judge in court Thursday that two years ago, Schuch was the victim of a “vicious” attack by the person Schuch is now accused of battering. The beating was severe, but Schuch didn’t report it to police because he feared this person would kill him, the defense attorney said. Until Wednesday night, the two had not had any further contact with each other, Kililis said.
During Thursday’s hearing, both Kililis and Schexnider said what happened at the train station was a chance encounter.
Schuch and the alleged victim just happened to be heading back to Crystal Lake from the same train station in Chicago when they first saw each other. The prosecutor said a witness who was with the alleged victim told police the two recognized each other and it was “awkward.” No words were exchanged, but they made eye contact, and the witness told authorities she knew and they’d had past issues, Schexnider said.
But Kililis described the initial encounter not as “awkward” but as Schuch being afraid for his life.
Both boarded the train in separate cars. When they exited in Crystal Lake, the witness said Schuch, “unprovoked,” ran up behind the alleged victim and hit him with the skateboard, the prosecutor said, adding Schuch called the other man an expletive and fled on his skateboard.
Kililis said he realized the alleged victim had suffered serious injuries, but the defense attorney said the appearance of those injuries suggests the man was struck from the front, not from behind.
The Crystal Lake Police Department said in a news release that it responded to a call at around midnight Wednesday for a reported battery on East Woodstock Street. First responders arrived to find a person who suffered “significant injuries,” the release stated.
According to a criminal complaint filed in McHenry County courthouse, Schuch is accused of striking the victim “in the head and face with the wheels/axel of a skateboard” while at the Crystal Lake downtown Metra station.
Nearly two hours later, around 2 a.m. Thursday, Schuch was located in the area of Interstate 80 and the Tri-State Tollway in Lansing, near the Indiana border, authorities said. Illinois State Police took Schuch into custody without incident, and he was taken to McHenry County jail, police said in the release.
Schexnider used the location of Schuch’s arrest to argue that he is a flight risk, but Kililis said Schuch has strong ties to the community and is the father of a 4-month-old child. Kililis also said Schuch did not know there was a warrant for his arrest before he was taken into custody.
Kililis also said Schuch is a professional skateboarder who has a clothing line, YouTube channel and a job.
At 17, Schuch became a globally ranked street skateboarder, regularly traveling around the world to compete. Based on competition results over the past two years, Schuch currently ranks 266th globally in men’s skateboarding.
Crystal Lake police are currently investigating the matter and asked anyone with information to contact authorities at 815-356-3620. Anonymous tips can be sent by texting the word CLPDTIP along with information to 847411.