Man accused of stabbing in daylight outside Chicago restaurant no bail | Crime-and-Courts

Prosecutors have not said what they believe prompted parcel handler Michael Dabrowski, 25, to attack a man with a knife in the parking lot outside a Wendy’s in the 3900 block of North Harlem Avenue Friday afternoon.

Describing the victim, Dabrowski reportedly told a passerby, “He (expletive) me over it,” prosecutors said during a bail hearing broadcast on YouTube. Dabrowski is charged with first degree murder.

Judge Susana Ortiz refused Dabrowski’s release on bail, calling him a danger to the community.

Dabrowski and the victim arrived in separate vehicles at around 4:20 p.m., and the victim, Michael A. Majeski, 24, got into Dabrowski’s vehicle, prosecutors said.

Moments later, Dabrowski began stabbing the victim, who came out and attempted to flee, according to Deputy State Attorney Susie Bucaro. Dabrowski pursued the victim and continued to stab him until Majeski collapsed in the drive-thru lane of the restaurant, she added.

The attack continued, although the victim did not appear armed with a weapon and did not repel his attacker, prosecutors said.

The stabbings in broad daylight were captured under surveillance and observed by many people in the area, including three Wendy’s employees who went out for a cigarette break, Bucaro said.

After the stabbing, Dabrowski threw the bloodied knife into the bushes and walked away, authorities said. Several citizens found Dabrowski and detained him until the police arrived. Body-worn camera footage captured Dabrowski covered in blood and dirt, Bucaro said.

Five witnesses identified Dabrowski as the attacker, and police recovered the knife from the bushes, authorities said.

Majeski, from the Belmont Terrace neighborhood, was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he was pronounced dead. He suffered 27 stab wounds, including 11 to the chest and abdomen and six to the back, Bucaro told court.

Dabrowski’s attorney, Brian Sexton, said his client and the victim knew each other but offered no explanation as to what had happened. He asked the judge to dismiss a petition denying bail because of his lack of criminal history and unspecified mental health issues.

“Until he gets bail, we believe his mental health will deteriorate seriously. He’s never been in trouble with the law before, ”Sexton said, saying his family wanted to put him in a mental health facility.

The judge refused bail, due to the strength of the evidence and the brutality of the attack. Dabrowski is expected to return to court on Friday.