Two suburban men face felony charges after yet another bicyclist was beaten and robbed by a large group of people in the Loop on Saturday night. The victim is the third bicyclist — and the second Divvy rider — to be similarly attacked in the Loop since Wednesday night.
Police said the 29-year-old was docking his Divvy bike on the 100 block of West Monroe around 11:30 p.m. when a group of 8 to 10 people approached him, punched him several times, and took his bicycle at gunpoint. Officers responded and found a group of suspects in the area.
Prosecutors on Sunday charged 19-year-old Anthony Glees Cole of Park Forest with felony robbery and felony unlawful use of a weapon. The victim identified Cole as the offender who repeatedly punched him in the face and took his Divvy bike, prosecutors said. Police allegedly found a loaded handgun in his possession during a search.
Also arrested was 25-year-old Taurus Haywood of University Park. Police chased Haywood on foot and saw him throw an object into an alley as he ran, prosecutors said. After he was in custody, cops returned to the alley and found a loaded handgun, according to the allegations. The victim identified Haywood as a member of the group that approached him at the Divvy docking station, prosecutors said.
Haywood, who received a one-year prison sentence for gun possession in 2016, is charged with
unlawful use of a weapon. Judge John Lyke ordered him held on $75,000 bail, meaning he’ll need to post a $7,500 deposit to get out of jail. Lyke said Haywood would also need to go onto electronic monitoring if he’s released.
Coles has never been arrested before, prosecutors said. Lyke set his bail at $20,000 and ordered him to stay in the home from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily if he can post the $2,000 deposit required for release.
Two bicyclists, including another Divvy rider, were robbed by a group of seven offenders Wednesday night in the Loop. An 18-year-old was charged in connection with one of those robberies, which was captured by surveillance cameras. In fact, Princeton Rogers Jr. didn’t make his high school graduation ceremony on Friday because he was in felony bond court as a prosecutor charged him with the robbery.
Prosecutors said a bicyclist was riding southbound on Wabash at Madison around 11:30 p.m. when seven people approached and told them they wanted his bike. The biker tried to maneuver around the group.
Rogers, wearing bright red pants and a bright long-sleeve sweatshirt, used both hands to grab the bicyclist by his backpack and throw him to the ground, prosecutors said. He then struggled with the alleged victim for control of the bike and eventually rode away with it, according to the state’s allegations.
The bicyclist chased Rogers and the other members of the group for a short distance and flagged down a CPD squad car for help, prosecutors said. Police reportedly found a group of people riding bicycles nearby — including one man wearing the bright red clothing that the alleged victim described.
Rogers tried to pedal away from police, but he eventually ditched the stolen bike and began running on foot, prosecutors said. Police caught him, and the victim identified him and the bike he discarded, according to prosecutors.
A private defense attorney told Judge Arthur Willis that Rogers was supposed to be graduating from high school Friday morning. Rogers has no other arrests, according to defense and prosecuting attorneys.
Willis, swayed by the fact that Rogers has no other arrests in his background, set bail at $10,000. Rogers will need to post a 10% deposit and go onto electronic monitoring to be released, the judge said.
Within 10 minutes of the robbery seen on video, another bicyclist reported being battered and robbed by seven men who surrounded him and took his Divvy bike on the 100 block of North Dearborn, CPD spokesperson Sally Bown said. Rogers is not accused of participating in that incident.
Those offenders struck the bicyclist in the face, knocking him to the ground. They continued to beat the man, and one of them rode away westbound with his Divvy bike, Bown said. Other members of the group also reportedly fled on Divvy bikes.
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