Motorcyclist Charged With Assaulting Cyclists May Enter a Plea Next Month

There was a status hearing this morning in the case of Zachary Konecki, the motorcyclist charged with groping a female cyclist on Milwaukee Avenue and punching out her husband last September. During the hearing at the Cook County Circuit Court's Skokie courthouse, Konecki and his public defender, and a representative of the Cook County state's attorney's office, provided an update on discovery, the process of sharing evidence, to Judge Catherine Marie Haberkorn. Both sides are currently reviewing surveillance video; the contents of Konecki’s Facebook page and other relevant social media postings; plus other evidence.

The next court hearing was scheduled for April 9, at which time Konecki may enter a guilty or not guilty plea, according to his public defender Like today’s hearing, it will take place at 10 a.m. in room 107 of the Skokie courthouse, 5600 Old Orchard Road.

The alleged assault took place on September 22. As the couple was biking northwest on Milwaukee Avenue near Augusta Boulevard, Konecki, 30, and a companion allegedly rode up behind them on mini-cycles, and Konecki allegedly groped the woman. The husband chased the motorcyclists down and confronted them, and when he turned to talk to the second motorcyclist, Konecki allegedly punched him in the face while wearing gloves with reinforced knuckles. The husband was knocked unconscious with a concussion, and the motorcyclists fled the scene.

While Konecki has no prior convictions in Cook County, the Daily Herald reported that in 2008 he was arrested in his home in northwest-suburban Island Lake and charged with possession of 326 grams of marijuana with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, unlawful use of brass knuckles, and filing a false police report.