Update September 26, 2021: Marcos Rodriguez has pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and aggravated battery of a transit passenger in exchange for a sentence of two years mental health probation from Judge Earl Hoffenberg.
A Chicago man who robbed a Red Line passenger last week is facing felony charges after the detective who was assigned to the case just happened to see him while watching a live CTA surveillance camera feed days later, according to prosecutors.
Last Monday, a 25-year-old man told police that he was riding a northbound train when the robber boarded his car at Granville around 10 p.m. The suspect asked to use the victim’s phone and then punched the victim in the face and body when he said the man could not use it.
When the victim walked to another train car, the offender followed him and demanded his money while holding his hand inside a bag he was carrying. The victim took his wallet out, and the robber reached into it, took about $20 cash, and fled at the next stop.
The entire incident was captured on CTA surveillance video, according to prosecutors.
One week later, on September 14, the detective who’s assigned to the case happened to be watching live CTA camera feeds from the Loop when he saw a man who looked like the robber standing on the Jackson Red Line platform. He arranged for patrol officers to go to the station and detain the suspect.
The robbery victim identified the man, 21-year-old Marcos Rodriguez, as the person who beat and robbed him on the train, prosecutors said during a Tuesday afternoon bond court hearing.
Rodriguez admitted to punching the victim, pretending he had a gun, and taking the man’s money, according to the state’s allegations. He also identified himself and the victim in CTA surveillance images, prosecutors said.
Judge Mary Marubio set bail for Rodriguez at $200,000 and ordered Rodriguez to go on electronic monitoring if he can post the mandatory $20,000 deposit bond.