Police guard the abandoned taxi at Waveland and Lake Shore Drive. |
UPDATE OCTOBER 21: Details of the court filing are up. Klemko did not escape unscathed.
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Robert Klemko, Sports Illustrated’s Chicago-based NFL reporter and a frequent sports media guest, was arrested in his Lake View condo early Saturday morning, after a Checker taxi driver reported being cabjacked.
Klemko, 27, gained significant media exposure after live Tweeting his “arrest” during the Ferguson riots. He did not turn to social media during today’s arrest.
CWB sources say Klemko is charged with two misdemeanors—simple battery and criminal trespass to a vehicle—in connection with the incident that police classified as vehicular hijacking. The victim reportedly did not want to pursue felony charges.
Klemko (USA Today) |
Police responded to Klemko’s high rise at Irving Park and Pine Grove around 1AM after a janitor called 911 to report that a cabbie was in the lobby—shaken after being allegedly battered and carjacked by one or more passengers.
The cabbie told police that Klemko and his companions became fares off of Delaware Place downtown and headed to the Lakeview location.
At some point after the alleged confrontation, Klemko headed to his apartment. How the taxi cab got from Klemko’s building to Waveland and Lake Shore Drive while the cabbie was in his lobby is a bit of a mystery. Three or four other passengers were reported to have been in the cab when it traveled to Lake View.
Detectives are working to identify other suspects in the case, CPD #HX472070.