August 5 was quite a day for James Stamps. He got arrested at Rush Hospital, walked out of a Chicago police station on his own recognizance a little while later, and then got arrested again in the Loop. Now, prosecutors say Stamps also pushed a man off the Illinois Medical District Blue Line platform that morning.
Stamps was on the platform around 6:45 a.m. when he pushed the Portage Park resident, 26, onto the tracks below. According to police, the victim suffered injuries to his left shoulder and abdomen. Detectives released surveillance video of the incident two days later, hoping to generate leads in the case:
As it turns out, Chicago cops arrested Stamps twice in the hours following the attack, but no one linked him to the CTA attack until much later.
After the incident, Stamps went to Rush University Medical Center for treatment of an unspecified injury, according to a CPD report.
Stamps, dissatisfied with the services provided, went outside and threw a rock through one of the hospital’s windows, shattering it. Hospital security detained Stamps for Chicago cops, who reported hearing Stamps say he smashed the window because his feet hurt and he needed a place to lay down and eat.
Stamps was charged with misdemeanor criminal damage to property and walked out of the Near West (12th) District police station on his own recognizance at 3:20 p.m., according to CPD records.
Stamps was arrested again in the South Loop less than two hours later, at 5 p.m., after allegedly throwing rocks at a ComEd worker and the victim’s work truck in the 1500 block of South Clark.
On Monday, prosecutors dropped all charges in the South Loop case. During the same hearing, Judge Robert Kuzas sentenced Stamps to five days in the Rush Hospital matter. The sentence was satisfied by the time Stamps had already served, according to court records.
Shortly after the hearing, Chicago police arrested Stamps at the courthouse and charged him with felony aggravated battery in connection with the CTA attack. Police reportedly figured out who he was after detectives released the surveillance video.
Judge Charles Beach set bail at $100,000 with electronic monitoring, which means Stamps will have to post a $10,000 bail deposit to be released on an ankle bracelet.
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