COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A man arrested for slapping an employee of George's Lounge was freed from jail on bond only to return to the South Loop dive bar and threaten the victim, prosecutors said.
Steve Smith, 35, of the 500 block of East Oakwood Boulevard, was arrested twice in three days for his behavior at George's Cocktail Lounge, 646 S. Wabash St., prosecutors said.
Smith spent part of the night Sunday at George's, according to a police report.
He was ordered out of the bar and at some point and threatened a bartender and slapped another employee, prosecutors said.
He was arrested on misdemeanor charges of assault and battery Monday, according to court records. A Cook County judge released Smith from jail later Monday, ordering him to return to court on his own recognizance.
Instead, Smith went right back to George's, where he waited in the early hours Tuesday morning for the two employees to finish their shifts, the police report states.
Speaking in an "intimidating and threatening manner," Smith told both employees, "You're never going to make it to court," the report states.
He was arrested shortly before 5 a.m. in the 700 block of South State Street and charged with intimidation.
On Wednesday afternoon, when Smith appeared again in court, a judge set bail at $55,000 and barred him from going to George's Lounge or having any contact with the bar's employees.
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