Man dies 2 weeks after roommate charged with attacking him - Chicago Tribune

A Chicago man died this morning, more than two weeks after he was hit on the head by his roommate, who is being held on battery charges in the attack, which also left the roommate's mother injured, authorities said.

Juan Zavala, 46, was declared dead at 8:56 a.m. at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital, following the attack on July 4, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. The man was attacked about 10 p.m. that night in the 1800 block of West 44th Street, around the corner where he lived as a roommate of Alvaro Elizondo, 45, according to police and court records.

Elizondo, of the 4400 block of South Wolcott Avenue, previously has served time in prison for a manslaughter to which he pleaded guilty in 1988, and is being held in Cook County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail on domestic battery charges and a charge of aggravated battery of a person over the age of 60, according to jail records. A person can be charged with domestic battery in cases involving either family members or housemates.

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• 4400 South Wolcott Avenue, Chicago, IL 60609, USA
• 1800 West 44th Street, Chicago, IL 60609, USA

Police were called to West 44^th about 10 p.m. July 4th after someone reported a battery in progress. They found the 46-year-old unconscious on the sidewalk after he had been punched by his roommate, and also found the roommate's mother, age 73, had been pushed in the fight, Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Daniel O'Brien said. The attacker had fled the scene by the time police arrived.

Elizondo's mother, who also lives in the Wolcott home, declined medical treatment.

Alcohol may have been involved in the dispute that led up to the attack, police said.

Elizondo was arrested after he returned home hours later, and threatened other family members who lived at the Wolcott address, police said.

In addition to his manslaughter plea, Elizondo also has served time in prison on a 1991 charge of receiving or selling a stolen vehicle, and was sentenced to one year's probation for a 1986 charge of delivery of a controlled substance, according to court records.

An autopsy was scheduled for Zavala for tomorrow.

lford@tribune.com | Twitter: @ltaford