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| Murphy (left) and Perry pleaded guilty to robbing a motorist at Belmont and Halsted. |
A man who was on parole for robbery when he robbed a Boystown motorist in November received a cake walk sentence of 2-years in prison this week. His co-offender received an even easier sentence: 2-years of “mental health probation.”
Parolee Joseph Murphy, Juan Perry, and an unknown third person approached a driver at Belmont and Halsted while he waited for a red light to change. One of the men asked the driver for a cigarette and became enraged when the driver turned them down, prosecutors said.
A fight broke out with Perry knocking the man to the ground and Murphy kicking the victim while he was down, according to court records. The offenders tried to take the victim’s wallet and keys while the third man entered the victim’s car and took his phone, prosecutors said.
Murphy and Perry were arrested later that night when the victim saw them in the 900 block of West Belmont and flagged down patrol officers.
State records show that Murphy was on probation for two other robberies at the time of the mugging. He had been sentenced to four years in prison for robbery in March 2013, and he was given another four years in a separate case in November 2013, records show.
Despite that, Murphy was paroled in November 2016. He lists the Howard Brown Health Center at 4025 N. Sheridan as his “home.”
He has now been given a fresh two-year sentence. With credit for time served awaiting trial, Murphy is expected to be freed this spring. Perry was instructed to undergo mental health treatment while on probation for two years.
