A bartender arrested in connection with a melee at a Palatine, Ill., bar involving a former "American Idol" contestant pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he beat and choked one of her friends.
Adam Sobanski, 32, was arraigned in Cook County Circuit Court on six counts of aggravated battery in connection with the July 8 incident at the Lamplighter Inn Tavern & Grille, where he worked as a bartender.
The charges stem from a confrontation between Lamplighter employees and singer-songwriter Haley Reinhart and several of her friends, authorities said. Reinhart was cited by Palatine police for battery under a municipal ordinance.
Sobanski is accused of putting a male patron in a headlock and choking him, "impeding the victim's breathing" after Reinhart and her group were being escorted from the bar by bouncers, prosecutors said.
Alan Chislof, the man who has publicly identified himself as the person who was beaten at the bar, has filed a lawsuit against Sobanski and the Lamplighter. Chislof, 30, said he did nothing to provoke the incident and suffered a concussion, two black eyes, a broken nose and a cut above his eye.
Sobanski is out on bond. His case will continue Oct. 10 at Rolling Meadows branch court.
Reinhart, a Wheeling native, earned a spot on "American Idol" in 2011. She finished in third place and since then she's released two albums.
