Sushi Ya owner’s husband pleads guilty to lesser offense over slashing incident

The husband of a Joliet sushi bar owner decided to forgo a trial and plead guilty to a reduced offense in a case where he was charged with slashing the hand of a cook.

The plea agreement on Tuesday for Xiong Zheng, 54, of Joliet, was done with the support of Branden Bruzzo, a chef whose hand was slashed by Zheng with a meat cleaver on Jan. 7, 2020, at Sushi Ya, 2721 W. Jefferson St., according to Joliet police reports. The two men were arguing in kitchen at the time.

Bruzzo testified that he resumed working at Sushi Ya and he has been able to work well with Zheng.

Zheng, who is the husband of Sushi Ya owner Hong Pan, initially faced a felony aggravated battery charge but that was reduced to misdemeanor battery.

Judge Vincent Cornelius sentenced Zheng to a year of court supervision after he pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor offense. Cornelius ordered Zheng to pay $719 in fines and fees, and to not have any harmful or offensive contact with Bruzzo.

Zheng appeared in court with attorney Robert Bodach of the Tomczak Law Group. A Mandarin interpreter was also present to help Zheng understand the court hearing.

Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Christine Vukmir said the evidence in the case would show that Zheng and Bruzzo were working in the kitchen at Sushi Ya when the two were involved in a dispute.

She said Zheng told Bruzzo that he needed to leave work but Bruzzo refused to do so. She said Zheng pushed Bruzzo and Bruzzo struck Zheng in response.

“In retaliation, the defendant did strike back at the victim, making contact with him,” Vukmir said.

An officer investigating the case watched security video footage from the kitchen and saw Bruzzo and Zheng cooking before a verbal altercation broke out, according to a Joliet police report.

Zheng put his hand on Bruzzo’s shoulder and Bruzzo hit Zheng in the neck, according to the report. The video then showed Zheng grabbing a meat cleaver, slashing Bruzzo’s hand and following him around the counter while trying to cut Bruzzo again, the report said.

“Bruzzo had thrown multiple strikes toward Zheng while Zheng had the meat cleaver,” police reports said.

The video then showed Zheng “chasing Bruzzo out of the kitchen through the back door” with an “unknown object in his hand,” according to the report.

Sushi Ya was closed for about a week after the incident and reopened Jan. 14, 2020. At the time the restaurant was closed, a sign on the front door said “Sorry to miss you.”

A petition from “loyal customers” was also taped to the front door of Sushi Ya. More than a dozen names were signed on the petition, including a person named “Sushi Lisa.”