A man who’s charged with stealing a woman’s phone and kicking an arresting officer in his groin a week before Christmas was charged Wednesday with battering another woman in a robbery attempt in Streeterville that same week.
“When I get out of these handcuffs,” James Killingsworth allegedly told an officer who arrested him on December 19, “I’m going to beat your b*tch ass.” He then kicked the cop in his personal parts, according to prosecutors.
Now, Killingsworth is charged with punching a woman in the face during a robbery attempt in Streeterville two days before the incident that landed him in jail.
On Wednesday, prosecutors said a Chicago police officer who had “previous interactions” with Killingsworth identified him as the assailant from surveillance photos that detectives circulated recently as they investigated the newly-charged crime.
According to prosecutors and police, a woman was walking in the 400 block of East Ontario when Killingsworth ran up, punched her in the face, and tried to take her phone around 3:15 p.m. on December 17.
The victim wrestled with Killingsworth, age 26, and managed to maintain control of her property, prosecutors said. She then allegedly watched as he ran into a nearby Buena Beef and then a 7-Eleven store.
Detectives later obtained surveillance video from the two businesses and sent images of the attacker to cops in a “seeking to identify” bulletin. At least one officer identified Killingsworth from the footage. But, prosecutors said, the victim was unable to identify Killingsworth in a photo line-up last month.
Killingsworth has been held in lieu of $25,000 bail since prosecutors charged him on December 20 with trying to steal a woman’s phone and battering the cop.
In that incident, a witness stuck out her foot and tripped Killingsworth as he ran away with a woman’s phone on the 1000 block of North State, according to prosecutors.
A CPD sergeant who happened to be across the street saw what happened and intervened.
That’s when Killingsworth allegedly threatened to beat the cop and then kicked him in his groin, Assistant State’s Attorney Bob Groebner said during a December bail hearing.
When Judge David Navarro listened to the state’s allegations in December, he noted that the alleged crime “seems different than just a theft.” The judge suggested that the incident might be properly classified as a more serious robbery offense.
On Wednesday, Judge Susan Ortiz gave Killingsworth a recognizance bond in the Streeterville attempted robbery case. She noted that two months have passed since the incident, and the victim was unable to identify Killingsworth in a photo line-up.
Killingsworth remains jailed on the case that was charged in December.