Bobby Brandolino, Shorewood Music Store Owner, Pleads Guilty In Domestic Abuse Case

SHOREWOOD, IL — Shorewood music store owner Robert "Bobby" Brandolino was released last Halloween from the Will County Jail, where he was kept in connection with allegations he attacked and pistol whipped a woman inside his Shorewood home with a loaded gun. Now, with the help of private defense lawyer George Lenard, Brandolino reached a plea bargain and was sentenced by Will County Judge Tom Slazyk.

Brandolino pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor domestic battery crime. Last year, the Will County State's Attorney's Office charged Brandolino with seven crimes: aggravated domestic battery, four counts of domestic battery and two counts of aggravated assault.

As for Brandolino's sentence, Brandolino was given 24 months of probation, assessed court costs of $702 and probation fees of $1,200. Brandolino will not serve any additional jail time in connection with his crime. He spent two days in the Will County Jail last year, from Oct. 30 to 31, 2024.

According to his probation order, Brandolino must complete a drug and alcohol evaluation and follow all recommendations. He must continue with his mental health therapy. Brandolino's six other charges were dismissed under his plea agreement, and the probation order makes mention of the divorce filing involving Brandolino and his victim.

Brandolino's plea bargain was presented to Judge Slazyk by assistant Will County State's Attorney Mary Beth Kent Duffy, court files show.

The divorce case was opened at Will County's Courthouse following Brandolino's arrest by the Shorewood Police Department.

"I am requesting an order of protection against Robert because he put a gun to my head and then hit me with the gun in front of the kids. My daughter called the police. He was arrested, and he is in the Will County Jail," reads the victim's order of protection from Oct. 30, 2024.

On Oct. 29, 2024, the woman went to the emergency room in Plainfield to receive four staples to the back of her head to close the wound, according to prosecutors. The Shorewood Police Department recovered 15 guns from Bobby Brandolino's house on Garden Terrace, ranging from handguns to rifles and shotguns. Shorewood police also recovered a tactical knife and a tactical axe from Bobby Brandolino's home.

Prosecutors alleged that Brandolino pointed his loaded handgun toward a 12-year-old boy who tried to intervene and threatened to "brain" him, which means kill him, according to the prosecution's filing.

"The defendant was intoxicated during all of this, making his actions even more alarming," prosecutors argued. "This defendant is a danger to his whole family and has shown it by these acts of violence and threats to kill them."

Although the Will County State's Attorney's Office argued that Bobby Brandolino is a danger to the community and needed to remain in the Will County Jail, Republican Will County Judge Donald DeWilkins ruled against the prosecution's petition seeking to deny his pretrial release.

Following Brandolino's recent sentencing, "it is hereby ordered that as part of the plea agreement, the previously ordered electronic monitoring is terminated on this date, October 15, 2025," Judge Slazyk wrote.

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