Jonesboro man recovering from attack

JONESBORO, Ill. -- In the early hours Tuesday, two people lured Roy Easton, a mentally retarded man, to an abandoned building in Jonesboro. A larger group then attacked the 21-year-old, possibly using a wood two-by-four and a broken beer bottle.

All to steal little more than $100.

"The more I think about it, the more I want to cry. They just left him there to die," said Easton's mother, Crystal Bonilla.

Bonilla said her son, who does not live with her, had cash at the time of the attack earned from odd jobs and a recently cashed disability check. The only money remaining afterward was a bloody wad of bills adding up to $34, she said.

Police have not charged anyone in the beating but have interviewed suspects and believe as many as five people were involved. Union County State's Attorney Allen James said he expects to file charges next week.

Police have released few details on the attack, citing the ongoing investigation.

Friday, Easton underwent surgery at Saint Francis Medical Center to have a titanium plate placed on his skull above his right eye and on his cheekbone. His jaw was also fractured, nose broken and right eyeball ruptured during the attack.

He will be discharged today.

"My son looked just like Frankenstein. He is scared and terrified, and all I can think is what idiots would do this," Bonilla said.

The attack is especially brutal, she said, because her son is so generous and trusting.

"Everybody knows him. He would give his last one or two dollars to anybody. He just likes to joke and laugh and carry on with anybody he meets," she said.

The beating took place in an abandoned house on Heacock Street after midnight Monday. Police say Easton was accompanied by two people near the intersection of Heacock and Main streets after the attack, where an ambulance was flagged down. The two people who helped Easton were described by Jonesboro patrolman David Wilkins as "not good Samaritans."

Bonilla said she was unaware of anybody accompanying her son and was told by paramedics the ambulance was on its normal route and nearly hit Easton, who was lying in the street.

"He would have bled to death there if nobody found him," she said.

Easton's girlfriend, Tina Blair, said Easton knew his attackers. "Two of the people are always around Roy, they're always asking him to buy them beer and soda, and he'll always do it," she said. "He loves to help people, and he loves to be with people."

Wilkins said these type of attacks are all too common.

"You don't necessarily see it to this extreme, but he is mentally challenged and there are people out there who try to take advantage of these types of people. If they get money at the end of the month, then they'll try to take it," he said.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245