BRADLEY, Ill. — A man from the suburb of Bradley is now facing multiple charges, including a hate crime, following an altercation at a local bar. The incident, which unfolded at Mac & Frankie’s bar last month, led to the suspect’s formal charges being filed just this week.
In an exclusive interview with ABC7, the victim, Vinisha Sherrod, shared her account of the events.
What started as a typical night out for Sherrod at a familiar bar quickly turned into a nightmare. She recounts being subjected to a racial slur before being physically assaulted and ejected from the premises.
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The heated exchange, which moved from inside the bar to the street, was caught on cell phone video. A man from Kankakee now faces accusations of committing a hate crime in connection with the incident.
ABC7 Chicago blurred the faces of individuals in the video who have not been charged with any crimes.
Reflecting on the night of December 23, Sherrod describes how an evening meant for celebration at Mac & Frankie’s turned disturbingly violent just before the clock struck midnight.
“I did nothing wrong. I never even looked his way,” Sherrod said.
In a redacted security video provided to ABC7 by Bradley police, the moments that led up to the fight can be seen. There’s no audio on the clip. A man is sitting at the bar alone before Sherrod, her girlfriend and another friend sit near him for drinks. The faces of everyone else in the video are blurred since they don’t face charges.
“You’ll see in the surveillance video, he was staring at me the whole time,” Sherrod said. “He said take the n-word… somewhere else.”
A manager is called in by the bartender who, Sherrod says, eventually tells her group to leave.
“And, as I was about to put my cup down, she tries taking it out my hand,” Sherrod said.
Things quickly escalated from there.
“All I know is just, like, a bunch of white men just come grabbing me, and forcing me out,” Sherrod said. “The white man who called me the n-word, he still had me while I was out the establishment… That’s when I, like, hit the ground, and I just heard my thumb crack.”
The 27-year-old was left with a broken thumb and some hair ripped out. Police were later called and arrested 71-year-old Nicholas Monacelli, charging him with multiple counts of battery and a hate crime.
“You shouldn’t feel uncomfortable anywhere if you want to go out and enjoy yourself. It’s 2026,” Sherrod said.
Investigators say the suspect did admit to putting his hands on the victim, claiming because she was using foul language in the bar.
Messages left by ABC7 for Monacelli and for the bar’s owner were not returned.
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