A man who committed two robberies aboard CTA trains was arrested after police learned that he used his real name and home address to order a ski mask with one of the victims’ Amazon accounts during July, prosecutors said.
Kywan Lee, 19, was ordered held without bail during a bond court hearing Tuesday.
Around 8:35 p.m. on July 12, Lee sat down next to a man on a Blue Line train near the UIC-Halsted station and said he had a gun, Assistant State’s Attorney Darryl Auguste said.
Lee then ordered the victim to hand over his belongings. After getting the man’s iPhone, AirPods, and wallet, Lee fled at the next station, according to Auguste.
The next evening, Lee and an accomplice robbed a man on the Blue Line at Jackson, Auguste said. Lee allegedly grabbed the victim’s phone while the other robber took the man’s charger and AirPods.
Lee also pulled a gun from his backpack and held it to the victim’s chest before leaving the train, Auguste said.
Meanwhile, the first victim contacted detectives after someone named Kywan Lee tried to use his Amazon account to buy a ski mask, Auguste said. Deciding that the information was a “clue,” investigators included Lee’s mugshot in a photo line-up on July 15. The victim picked him out, Auguste said.
The second victim also allegedly picked Lee from the photo array.
Police arrested Lee this week, and he identified himself in CTA surveillance photos of the robber, Auguste said.
Prosecutors charged him with Class X armed robbery, aggravated robbery indicating the presence of a firearm, aggravated unlawful restraint, unlawful restraint, and aggravated battery of a transit passenger.
Lee has no adult felony convictions, but he is on conditional discharge for misdemeanor battery. That case stems from a June 3 incident at the Jefferson Park Blue Line station, according to CPD records.
According to Auguste, he was adjudicated delinquent as a juvenile for aggravated battery causing great bodily harm in Champaign County.
Assistant Public Defender Genevieve O’Toole said Lee is expecting his first child in January, and he’s working on his GED.
Judge Mary Marubio granted a prosecution request to hold Lee without bail. She set an additional $10,000 bail for violation of conditional discharge.
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