A CTA train operator is charged with being a felon in possession of a handgun, striking a cop with his car, and driving over 100 MPH in an attempt to evade arrest early Friday, according to Chicago police and prosecutors.
Perhaps most surprising of all is this: The CTA hired the accused man four years ago, shortly after he completed probation for illegally selling handguns in Chicago.
Police pulled 31-year-old Jevon Standback over for a traffic violation on the 700 block of West 103rd Street shortly before 2 a.m. Friday, according to Officer Ronald Westbrooks of CPD’s News Affairs office.
The officers pulled their squad car in front of Standback’s vehicle and saw him leaning down, appearing to hide something under the driver’s seat, Westbrooks said.
An officer opened the passenger-side door to Standback’s vehicle because the side windows are heavily tinted and he could not see what was happening inside the car, according to prosecutors. Standback allegedly put the car into reverse as the officer leaned into his car, striking the cop. Then, Standback sped from the scene, reaching speeds of over 100 MPH on the expressway as the officers tried to catch up, prosecutors said.
Standback exited the Dan Ryan Expressway and crashed into a gas station vacuum machine on the 7900 block of South State, Westbrooks said. Officers arrested Standback nearby after a brief foot chase.
Police allegedly found a handgun under the driver’s seat of Standbacks car. The officer who was reportedly struck by the passenger door felt pain in his shoulder and neck, but refused medical treatment, according to Westbrooks.
Prosecutors on Saturday charged Standback with being a felon in possession of a firearm, felony aggravated battery of a police officer, felony aggravated fleeing causing more than $300 in property damage, and three traffic violations.
Judge John Lyke set bail at $30,000 and ordered Standback to go onto electronic monitoring if he can post a 10% deposit bound. Lyke said Standback can continue reporting for work for the CTA if the transit agency keeps him on the payroll.
Standback received two years probation in 2013 for selling a firearm without a Firearm Owner’s ID card.
According to a Sept. 2013 Chicago Tribune report, prosecutors accused him of buying four guns, including a MAC-11 pistol in Florida, and then re-selling them near his home on South Eggleston Avenue in March 2012. Ironically, one of the weapons was found in a convicted felon’s car after the man crashed while trying to evade police following a traffic stop, the paper reported.
Standback has been employed as a CTA “train driver” for almost four years, his attorney said. CTA did not immediately respond to an inquiry on Saturday evening. The agency’s online records show Standback earned $28.34-an-hour as an “extra board” rail operations employee in 2018.
“Extra board” workers fill in when other employees go on vacation or take sick days.
CWBChicago will post an update when CTA responds to our weekend inquiry.
