A man who was discharged from Northwestern Memorial Hospital on January 9 stole a $25,000 golf cart from the medical center’s Streeterville campus and drove it home to Logan Square, prosecutors said Saturday. He’s charged with felony robbery.
Lukasz Wojewoda, 35, was discharged after undergoing back surgery, and the staff told him to leave around 7 a.m., according to information from a CPD report and his defense attorney. Wojewoda reportedly told investigators he saw a taxi cab waiting for him, but he didn’t want to walk that far, so he stepped into a groundskeeper’s cart and drove away.
The landscaper was thrown to the ground as the cart drove away, and Wojewoda later recalled hearing someone yelling, “no, no, no” as he drove from the scene, Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Mahoney said.
Wojewoda allegedly drove the cart all the way to the 2400 block of West Fullerton and parked. That’s a five-mile trip, according to Google Maps. Mahoney said the cart was gone when Wojewoda checked on it the next morning.
Judge Mary Marubio said the cart is described as a John Deere utility vehicle “and an expensive one at that.” Retail value: $25,000.
Police arrested Wojewoda Friday after Northwestern employees identified him.
Private defense attorney Arthur Porto said Wojewoda has “very serious physical problems” and no history of violence.
But Marubio said she was concerned that he allegedly went ahead with the robbery, “even though he hears people saying, ‘no, no, no,’ indicating that was not an available method of transportation for him.”
She set his bail at $10,000. Wojewoda must post 10% of that to go home on electronic monitoring under Marubio’s order.