A man who was free on bond while awaiting trial for allegedly stabbing his brother to death inside a Forest Park home in 2017 is now being held at Cook County Jail without bond after he was charged with attempted murder for brutally slashing a friend with a knife during the early morning hours of Sept. 7 in Chicago.
Nestor Soto, 42, was ordered jailed by Judge Arthur Willis during a bond hearing held via Zoom on Sept. 9 after the judge determined no bail amount would be enough to prevent Soto from being a danger to the community.
In September 2017, Soto allegedly stabbed his brother, 25-year-old Ivens Soto, to death after a night of drinking. Soto claimed that he woke up the next morning and found his brother dead, but he denied killing him.
Police reported they found no signs of forced entry to Soto’s home in the 7700 block of Adams Street, which was for sale at the time due to the breakup of Soto’s marriage. A chef by profession, Nestor Soto called 911 to report his brother’s death and police said they arrived to find his clothing covered in dried blood.
Soto was able to post the $25,000 cash bond set by a judge in 2017. He has remained free on electronic monitoring since that time.
At Soto’s bond hearing on Sept. 9, prosecutor Lorraine Scaduto told Willis that Soto “is clearly a danger. He’s been charged twice with using a knife against an individual. The first victim is dead and the victim in this case was seriously injured.”
According to the bond proffer read by Scaduto, the victim was a longtime friend of Soto’s, a carpenter who was employed at a new restaurant at 4929 W. Irving Park Road in Chicago, where Soto worked as a cook. Soto also reportedly lived above the restaurant space.
The victim reportedly told investigators that he’d gone to visit Soto at his residence on Sept. 6 in order to “lift his spirits” because he’d lost his job and because his wife and children had left him.
The two drank beer from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. the next morning, according to Scaduto, talking about various subjects, including God and about Soto’s impending trial for allegedly murdering his brother.
At some point, Soto asked his friend what he thought of that case, and the victim allegedly told Soto he didn’t believe he was innocent. Soto then allegedly looked his friend directly in the eyes before getting up and walking behind the victim to where Soto kept a row of knives for work.
Soto then allegedly took one of the knives and slashed the victim under the chin before swinging the knife around the victim’s neck from back to front. The victim then turned around and put his hands up, said Scaduto, but Soto continued swinging the knife at the victim, causing further injuries.
The victim was able to push Soto down and fled out a back door, falling down a flight of stairs and running into the street where a Chicago police squad car was passing by. The victim flagged down the officer, who rendered life-saving first aid until an ambulance arrived to take him to a hospital for treatment.
While the victim will recover from the attack, said Scaduto, “he will be scarred for the rest of his life. The victim thought he was going to die.” The victim was able to tell police the name and address of his attacker, who police arrested.
In addition to attempted murder, Soto was charged with aggravated battery.
Soto’s attorney, Steven Fine, said that the judge was getting just one side of the story and argued that it was the alleged victim who attacked Soto, pointing to cuts on Soto’s hands and arms.
“His friend became drunk, irrational and physically abusive,” Fine told the judge. “The victim conveniently neglects to say he held the knife in his hand.”
Willis stated Soto’s injuries were described in the police report, but he also noted that Soto refused treatment for those injuries.
“We don’t know where those injuries came from,” Willis said before ordering Soto held without bond.
The case will be heard at the Skokie courthouse, and Soto will be in court there on Sept. 17. In the meantime, he is due in court at the Maybrook courthouse on Sept. 10 for a hearing regarding the 2017 Forest Park case.
