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| Jimmy Williams (L) and Vernon Reeves are charged with robbing a solider at the State-Chicago Red Line station. | CPD; Wikicommons |
The Magnificent Mile’s infamous teen mobs were out in force on Black Friday and police say one man who fell victim to the hordes is a U.S. Army soldier. A large group of teenagers that police shooed away from Water Tower Place on Friday afternoon wound up beating and robbing the military man inside the State-Chicago Red Line station minutes later, according to police reports and CPD sources.
Police moved the group of teens away from Water Tower shortly after 2 p.m. on Black Friday. Less than 20 minutes later, police tactical teams assigned to the nearby L station reported that “a mob went into the subway and wound up robbing somebody.”
That somebody was a 31-year-old soldier in the U.S. Army who was helping a woman exit the train, prosecutors said today. The mob argued with the soldier about being inconvenienced by his courtesy and then attacked, beat, and robbed him as he tried to walk up to street level. The soldier suffered swelling and bruising across his face and body, according to a police report.
Police arrested two adults and two juveniles at the scene.
Eighteen-year-olds Jimmy Williams and Vernon Reeves are each charged with felony robbery and felony aggravated battery. Williams was ordered held in lieu of $50,000 bail. A judge set bail for Reeves was set at $100,000.
Prosecutors said Williams is on probation for crimes committed as a juvenile. Reeves is on probation for robbery and aggravated battery as a juvenile, according to prosecutors.
No information was immediately available about the two juveniles who were taken into custody.
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