Garage Mechanic Charged With Battery
Â Garrett Nelson should be at work at Bates Auto Body in North Aurora, Illinois, but instead, heâs in a holding cell with bruised knuckles and a sprained ankle.Aurora Beacon-NewsâÂ local crime reporter, PeterÂ Lazenby,Â discovered the 38-year-old Nelson sitting by himselfÂ in the holding cell, and decided to strike up a conversation.âIt was obvious he had gotten into a fight,â said Lazenby.Â  âHe was pretty bruised up.Â  I told him I was a reporter and he said he knew my name because he reads my âPeteâs Beatâ police blotter column.Â  Our talk turned into an interview, so I ended up doing a human-interest story on him. Â Turns out this guy really has led an interesting life. Â Also the fact that a mechanic was charged with battery â I mean the thing practically wrote itself!âLazenby sharedÂ a section of the conversation withÂ Empire News.PeterÂ Lazenby:Â  Do you mind if I ask what happened?Garrett Nelson:Â  I took a swing at a guy who was trying to tell me how to do my job.PL:Â  Where do you work?GN: Bates Auto Body on River Road.PL:Â  How did the fight start?GN:Â  I promised to have this guyâs car finishedÂ by 3:00, but things got backed up since a school bus packedÂ full of singing nuns broke down right in front of theÂ shop. Â I spent about 2 hours fixing them up, so then the guy comes back and asks me how come his car isnât ready.PL:Â  Did you tell him about the singing nuns?GN:Â  Yeah, but he said it wasnât his problem.Â  He was this suit-and-tie guy, on his phone the whole time, kinda rude.Â  Then he says he had a cousin whoâs a mechanic and I was working too slow.PL:Â  Why didnât the guy just go to his cousin?GN:Â  Thatâs what I asked him and it kind of ticked him off. Â I told him we had a waiting room, but he said heâd rather âkeep an eye on me out here.âÂ  Thatâs just how he said it:Â  âkeep an eye on me.âÂ  Well, that really frosted my ass.Â  What did he think was I gonna do?Â  Take a dumpÂ in his car or something?Â  So he keeps on staring, and the next thing I know, Iâm swinging at him; heâs swinging at me â he calls the police, but guess who gets stuck in here â me!âBarrett was charged with simple battery and was confident he would be released soon.âOne customer who comes in to my shop all the time with his hybrid, heâs a lawyer, so I called him up,â said Barrett.Â  He brings his car in at least once a month.Â  God, those hybrids are crap on 4 wheels!Â  Anyway, I heard him say something about âdropping the charges,â so I think Iâll be out of here soon.Â  The guy who I took a poke at left about a half hour ago.âBarrett was released an hour later in a better mood than when he arrived.âHey, am I gonna be famous?â he joked, limping out of the police station.Â  âI never thought Iâd be reading about me like this! Â I might turn into aÂ big-time celebrity!ââCareful what you wish for!â answered Lazenby.Lazenbyâs full article will appear in this Sundayâs Beacon-News as a special feature to âPeteâs Beat.â