Princeton Rogers Jr didn’t make his high school graduation ceremony Friday. Instead, the 18-year-old was standing in felony bond court as a prosecutor accused him of throwing a man to the ground and stealing his bicycle in the Loop.
The robbery, captured by a nearby surveillance camera, was one of two robberies Wednesday night that involved a group of offenders who traveled together on Divvy bikes and on foot.
Prosecutors said the 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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