Police say a 16-year-old boy and a 28-year-old man are facing charges in connection with Wednesday’s armed robbery of a CTA customer at the Roosevelt station.
The news comes as a review of the city’s own data shows robberies high along the CTA’s downtown and North Side train lines are at their highest level since 2010.
The teen is charged with armed robbery and was held on a warrant, according to a CPD statement. CWBChicago reported yesterday that he had been flagged as “armed and dangerous” in a law enforcement database and was wanted for at least one other hold-up.
Linzy, 28, of the Near North Side, is charged with misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon. He is not accused of robbery.
At 12:41 a.m., four robbers confronted a 25-year-old man in the elevator as they rode from the Red Line platform to the mezzanine, police said. Police said the attackers grabbed the victim’s wallet and backpack before punching him in the face. He declined medical treatment.
Using surveillance footage, the police located four suspects on the Clark-Division Red Line platform. Cops took them in for questioning and later released two without filing charges.
CPD has recorded 66 robberies on in CTA stations and on trains, platforms this year in five lakefront police districts that serve the city from 31st Street to Rogers Park. It’s the most robberies since 2010 and the second most since at least 2002.
The stats include all train lines in the Loop, the Brown Line to Rockwell, the Red Line from 31st to Howard, and the Purple Line. Robberies are increasing even though ridership on the train system is depressed due to COVID and the growing work-from-home trend.
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