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| L: Townsend; R: Williams (Illinois Department of Corrections) |
One of the most brutal and tragic robbery incidents that CWB has ever covered is nearing resolution in court.
Early on the morning of Sunday, June 23, 2013, two young men were sitting near the Belmont CTA station when a couple of offenders stole one of their phones. The victims called 911, caught up with the thieves in the alley behind the old Leona’s restaurant, and detained them with the expectation that police were on the way to help.
What the victims did not know is that the 19th district was in “RAP” status, meaning no officers were available to handle the victims’ call, and no police were ever on the way. As more than 10 minutes passed, things took a tragic turn.
A mob—estimated to have reached 20 people—began to form. Then, the thieves and others in the group overpowered the victims, beat them with their hands, a broken bottle, and a board that broke in the violence of the attack.
One victim, a then-25-year-old Orland Park man, “was knocked out, completely…He was on the ground, right by the alley. One guy hit him in the face, and another guy kicked him. It looked like he was going to die or something,” a witness told DNAInfo Chicago the next day.
Morgan Townsend, then 22, and Deondre Williams, then 18, were each charged with 19 counts.
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| Pearce (Cook Co. Sheriff’s Office) |
Now, the court cases are wrapping up.
On August 19, Williams pleaded guilty to one count of robbery and received a 5-year sentence. Townsend followed suit on September 23 and received 7 years.
A third man, now-20-year-old Asante Pearce, was arrested last spring and is charged with 16 counts, including robbery. With bond set at $350,000, Pearce is due in court next Friday.
4 Years For Him, 15 For Her
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| L: Brickell; R: Taylor (Illinois Department of Corrections) |
Antonio Brickell, 22, has been sentenced to 4 years in prison after pleading guilty on October 30th to robbing a mom and pop convenience store near the Sheridan CTA station in May.
Nicole Taylor, 24, received a 15 year sentence on November 17 after pleading guilty to a May 2013 robbery in the 3200 block of Halsted. Taylor’s two co-defendents, Tasheaka Carpenter and John Jefferson, are due in court on Friday.
