Chiraq man who brutally beat "Walking Man" with baseball bat charged with misdemeanor

With all of the shootings in Chicago it's possible that a person who brutally beats an elderly homeless man with a baseball bat and then try to throw him 20 feet to the ground could only be charged with a misdemeanor.

I'm not a lawyer, but wouldn't attempted murder be a more appropriate charge? It's just a thought.

Oh, Friday is Put the Guns Down day in Chicago. I hope that the accused wasn't celebrating early.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Misdemeanor charges have been filed in the beating of Joseph Kromelis, a fixture on downtown Chicago streets who is known to many as "The Walking Man."

Perry McCarlton, 41, was charged with reckless conduct even though Kromelis was reluctant to press charges, police said.

Kromelis told police he was on Lower Wacker around 11 a.m. Tuesday and said "Hi" to someone he passed. That man began punching and hitting him with a bat, police said.

A Central District sergeant responding to a battery call saw McCarlton straddled over Kromelis, struggling with the bat, according to a police report. A witness told the sergeant the suspect also tried to throw Kromelis over a railing to the pavement about 20 feet below

UPDATE 7:30am: I heard on WLS-AM that because Kromelis isn't pressing charges, authorities can't charge McCarlton with anything more serious. Again, I'm not a lawyer. On the other hand, what if Kromelis was beaten so badly that he ended up in a coma?

Related post:

Homeless "Walking Man" brutally beaten with baseball bat midday in downtown Chiraq