Exclusive Video From the Fight At The Mr. Submarines on Western Ave in the Beverly Community...When too many bars are in an Irish neighborhood...
They came for hero sandwiches and were saved by heroes. Five days after being jumped by thugs in the drive-through lane at a Mr. Submarine shop in Chicago’s Beverly community, Mark Ziolek and his girlfriend, Tina Coconate, returned Thursday evening to thank the workers who rescued them and helped police arrest their attackers. Security video footage of the unprovoked attack in the early hours of Sunday shows Mr. Sub employee Ernesto Romero reach his arm out of the drive-through window and pin one of the attackers against the outside of the building.
Romero and his brother, Augustin Romero, then rushed outside and helped defend the couple. Police arrested Conor Heffernan, 24, of the 3000 block of West 98th Place, and William Butler, 20, of the 9000 block of South Central Avenue, both of Chicago, and Robert Heffernan, 20, of Kalamazoo, Mich., at the scene.
All three men were each charged with two counts of misdemeanor battery and one count of misdemeanor criminal damage to property, police said. “I probably would have been knocked unconscious if they hadn’t helped,” said Ziolek, 34, as he nursed two black eyes Thursday. He said he and Coconate stopped at Mr. Sub on the way home from a benefit for Mother McAuley High School when the three men came up to the car, demanded that Ziolek give them his sandwich and money, threatened Coconate and then jumped on the roof of his car and punched Ziolek.
The Romero brothers’ bravery came as no surprise to their manager, Dan Tzoumas, who said the attack “made no sense.” Ald. Ginger Rugai (19th) plans to honor the brothers’ heroism with a certificate signed by the city council, her spokeswoman, Mary Beth Waller, said. But Augustin Romero said, “We’d do it for anyone — three guys against one isn’t right.”