Shane Sleeper has been charged with harassment and assault for threatening bars like Sidetrack and Roscoe’s.
A $300,000 bail has been set for a Chicago man accused of intimidating employees of gay bars in Boystown, the city’s iconic gayborhood.
Shane Sleeper, 31, reportedly made numerous threats throughout February against staff at Roscoe’s Tavern and Sidetracks, where he once made “a shooting gesture” at a manager. He has been served with four orders of protection to shield his alleged victims, according to authorities.
Sleeper was initially charged with assault on February 3 for threatening Sidetrack, but was later released on bond. But he continued sending violent threats to Sidetrack management and staffer at Roscoe’s. When authorities went to his apartment, he took off running but was eventually apprehended.
Prosecutors charged him with four counts of misdemeanor electronic harassment; misdemeanor resisting police; misdemeanor assault; and misdemeanor phone harassment. Bail was set at $300,000.
It’s not his first time running afoul of gay bars: In 2015, Sleeper was charged with battering James Nelson, owner of Atlanta’s Ten nightclub, where Sleeper was a part-time bartender. He claims the incident arose because of jealousy.
“I pretty much got hated by all the staff at Ten the moment I got there because I was the new hot guy in town. There is so much into this, it is kind of ridiculous,” he told Project Q. “Atlanta is not used to honesty and that is why I clash with this city,.”
Nelson attempted to get a temporary restraining order against Sleeper, but it was never issued. “We were trying to get him off the property, and he wouldn’t budge,” Nelson told Project Q. “He is just wreaking havoc on everyone in Midtown.”
