Police: Bartender's Nose Broken in Assault by Patron

A woman from unincorporated Plainfield Township was arrested early Saturday morning after police said she punched a bartender at .

Sgt. Mike Fisher said Teresa Yunker, 42, of the first block of Viking Boulevard, is charged with battery after allegedly striking the bartender in the face, breaking her nose.

“It appeared as if that devil alcohol showed its ugly head again,” Fisher said, saying the event stemmed from an apparent misunderstanding.

The incident unfolded around 10:30 p.m., when police said Yunker went behind the bar and confronted the Katie O’Connor’s employee.

“[Yunker’s] version of events was that she thought the bartender had hugged her husband and grabbed his rear,” Fisher said. “When our guys got there, [the bartender] was bleeding from the nose.”

But the bartender, who asked not to be identified, said she had no idea why the woman sucker-punched her.

“She came behind the bar and grabbed my arm,” said the employee, a 27-year-old from Plainfield. “I turned around thinking it was one of my servers, and she punched me in the face.

“I had no idea who she was,” the staffer said. “I hadn’t even spoken to her that night. She was there with someone I know, but I didn’t know her."

Fisher said Yunker’s husband told police he inadvertently bumped into the Katie O’Connor’s employee.

“He said he was sitting at the end of the bar and [he and the bartender] bumped into each other,” Fisher said.

Following the attack, Fisher said the couple left the bar. After speaking with another patron who had been at the bar with Yunker, police immediately went to the Viking Boulevard home, but Yunker wasn’t there. Fisher said officers returned around 1 a.m., found Yunker there and arrested her at her home.

Prior to the attack, it was an ordinary Friday night at the bar and restaurant, according to the injured employee.

“It was the first time we had a band on Friday night,” the bartender said. “It was busy, we were rocking and rolling. I was bartending — nothing was going on.”

Attempts made by Patch on Wednesday to reach Yunker were unsuccessful.

The bartender said she is nursing a broken nose and two black eyes following the attack.

She said she plans to file a civil suit to try to recoup her medical expenses. According to court records, the employee filed a restraining order Wednesday barring Yunker from contacting her.

Police report information is provided by local police departments. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.