Highland Park man held on gun charge after man he fought Saturday morning was found dead

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. - A father of two who was found dead after a fight this weekend along the Lake Michigan shoreline near Fort Sheridan Beach in Highland Park was identified by the Lake County Coroner's Office, and one of the men he was allegedly in the confrontation with has been taken into custody on a weapons charge unrelated to the incident, authorities said.

Police said the incident began around 1:00 a.m. early Saturday morning when Matthew Ascaridis, 45, a father of two who lives near the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve, went outside to speak with a group who was being too loud at Fort Sheridan Beach. Investigators said a fight broke out between him and an 18-year-old and a 20-year-old man.

Around 5:10 a.m. later that morning, police were reportedly called to the area after someone walking along the beach discovered an unconscious man on Lake Michigan's shoreline. That man was confirmed to be deceased and identified by the Lake County Coroner’s Office as Ascaridis, who they also noted died from multiple injuries related to the fight.

Approximately 15 minutes later, Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Caitlin Valiulis told a bond hearing court on Monday that Nicholas M. Caban, 20, of Highland Park, called police to report that he and an 18-year-old he was with had been involved in a fight with a man on the beach.

According to the Lake & McHenry Scanner, Caban told officers he and the 18-year-old were currently at his home in Highland Park and, once there, officers did indeed find the two young men with sand on their bodies and the pair were hospitalized due to the significant nature of the injuries they suffered in the fight.^[1]

After a search warrant was issued, investigators discovered a loaded Glock 9mm pistol with a scratched off serial number and the 20-year-old Caban was charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm without a serial number - to which Lake County Judge James Simonian ordered the 20-year-old Caban held on a $100,000 bond.

Caban's defense attorney said since reporting the incident, Caban has been "very cooperative" with the investigation and that the Glock pistol was not used in the fight nor was it identified by the Coroner as having cause to do with Matthew Ascaridis' death.

The Lake & McHenry Scanner report has additional details about the strange case.^[1:1]

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