Update May 7, 2021— A total of six adults were arrested and charged with crimes during the two nights, according to newly-released information from CPD.
Two adults managed to get arrested as police wrangled large groups of teens in the Loop on Saturday and Sunday night, according to court records. At least six juveniles were also arrested for minor infractions like battery, but no information is available about them because of their ages.
Both evenings, police and witnesses reported seeing groups of over 100 teens running in the streets and fighting along Wabash, State, Washington, and other nearby streets. Some reports indicated that members of the groups were battering passers-by and each other.
Prosecutors filed the most serious charge against 18-year-old Jason King, who’s facing one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
Police officers reported hearing shots fired near State and Madison around 9:15 p.m. Saturday. Several witnesses directed responding officers to a nearby car where King was sitting in the back seat, prosecutors said. Noting that King was wearing a heavy winter coat on an unseasonably warm night, officers patted him down and found a loaded handgun in his jacket, according to prosecutors. King has no criminal convictions in his background.
Judge Arthur Willis released King on his own recognizance Sunday afternoon.
On Sunday night, police arrested a homeless man who allegedly interfered in CPD efforts to manage another wave of teen antics.
Prosecutors said officers who were watching large groups of rambunctious teens saw several of them enter a 7-Eleven store near Lake and Wabash. An officer went inside and advised the clerk to clear out the store and lock the doors for a little while until the situation calmed down, prosecutors said.
That’s when 34-year-old Donnell Taylor allegedly approached the cops and told them to leave the kids alone. Taylor allegedly refused to leave police alone and ignored their orders to step away. He then balled up his hand and cocked his arm while threatening to “f*ck up” the police officers, according to prosecutors. The cops arrested Taylor and charged him with misdemeanor assault.
“I was really protecting and telling the kids good advice,” Taylor insisted during a bond court hearing Monday. He has four other misdemeanor cases pending, including two for battery and two for criminal trespass to state-supported land. Taylor told Judge Charles Beach that he picked up the trespassing charges because he’s homeless and sometimes sleeps in a Metra station.
Beach expressed sympathy for Taylor’s situation but ordered him held in lieu of $5,000 on each of three violation of bail bond petitions and another $5,000 on the new case. A different judge will review Taylor’s bond Wednesday, Beach said.
