Magnificent Mile attack: Bruce Diamond gets 5-year sentence after hitting woman with log on Michigan Ave., court docs say
The Chicago man charged in an attack on a woman on the Magnificent Mile in 2023 has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Bruce Diamond pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, court records show.
The incident took place at about 2:10 p.m. Nov. 13, 2023, in the 600-block of North Michigan Avenue outside the Burberry store.
Police said Diamond, then 52, threw a large object at a woman , hitting her in the head.
A witness named Dino described the attack.
"There was a group in front of us, and the next thing we know a gentleman came out of, well, a deranged man came out of nowhere, with about a 6-foot log, and projected it into the side of this woman's face," he said.
He said she immediately dropped to the ground, unconscious.
Court documents said the log was stolen from a nearby Starbucks, apparently part of a city holiday display outside the store.
"It was about 5- to 6-feet long, about 8- to 10-inches in diameter," Dino said. "I don't think people don't understand how hard she got hit!"
Dino said there was no warning, no indication anything was coming, until the log went airborne at the young woman. He and his friend were just a few steps behind.
The witness said she was bleeding from the nose and ears as paramedics rushed her away. The woman was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition in the ICU where she was unresponsive, according to court documents.
Police arrested Diamond at the scene.
"They didn't chase him," Dino said. "He pretty much surrendered, no fight."
Court documents show Diamond has an "extensive criminal history, including 21 convictions in Ohio since 2011." Records also show multiple charges in Illinois.
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