An Aurora firefighter is now facing felony battery charges for allegedly punching a female bartender in the face while he was off duty at a bar near Aurora late last month.
Kane County prosecutors have charged Daniel Ahasic, 43, with felony aggravated battery with great bodily harm and aggravated battery in a public place for the Dec. 22 incident that occurred at Stoney’s Bar, 1000 block of Ridgeway Avenue in an unincorporated area of Kane County near Aurora.
Ahasic was initially charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly punching a female Stoney’s bartender in the face after she warned him not to light a cigar inside the bar around closing time.
The bartender said Ahasic became upset with her request, and punched her once in the face. The blow knocked her unconscious and fractured several bones in her face, she said.
Prosecutors called the victim and told her that two Class 3 felony charges had been approved against Ahasic.
“All I can say is that I’m very pleased that the (misdemeanor) charge was upped,” she said. ”I’m not a mean person, and I’d never want to take food out of someone’s mouth, but the only satisfaction I will have is from him losing his job and having to think about what he has done.”
In 2013, Ahasic was nominated for the Firefighter of the Year Award in Aurora. He and several others were recognized for their heroic actions while responding to a report of a car in a pond near Interstate 88 and Eola Road that year. Ahasic was a paramedic who arrived on the scene that evening.
Following Ahasic’s arrest, Aurora Fire Chief John Lehman said the incident at the bar was “extremely regrettable.”
Ahasic was placed on paid administrative leave, he said.
“(The incident) occurred while this firefighter was off-duty, but these alleged actions absolutely do not represent the high standards which the Aurora Fire Department expects of its firefighters,” Lehman said. “All of my experience with this gentleman has been very positive. This is very out of character. He has been a model employee with us.”