Father, son charged in fatal Romeoville bat beating

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (WLS) -- A father and his teenage son are charged with beating a man to death with baseball bats in southwest suburban Romeoville. Police said the incident may have been the result of a confrontation after the victim's car was broken into.

Mark Ballard and his 15-year-old son are now charged with first-degree murder in connection with the beating.

"It stems from a property dispute, an unreported car burglary. It happened two to three days before the initial incident," said Cmdr. Ken Kroll, Romeoville Police Department. "Ultimately, it's sad. This could have been handled so much better by picking up the phone and calling the police."

On Sunday around 2 a.m., Romeoville police responded to the 400 block of Tallman for a report of several people armed with baseball bats. Police found Pollack critically injured.

Richard Pollack, of Romeoville, was pronounced dead at 3:05 a.m. Sunday at Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital, according to the Will County Coroner's office.