The man who brutally beat and carjacked beloved chef Jin Lew in Chinatown this spring, leaving the 61-year-old with injuries so severe that he will need 24-hour care for the rest of his life, was on bail for a pending stolen motor vehicle case at the time of the attack, prosecutors said Saturday.
Termaine Patterson is the 42nd person accused of killing or shooting—or attempting to kill or shoot—someone in Chicago while awaiting trial for a felony this year. The alleged crimes involved at least 79 victims, 18 of whom died.
Termaine Patterson (left) and Jin Lew | CPD; Facebook
Assistant State’s Attorney William Lacy said that Patterson and an accomplice carjacked another driver around 3 a.m. on April 7, then drove the hijacked car to the 2500 block of South Princeton in Chinatown.
There, Patterson and two accomplices pulled Lew from his car and horribly beat Lew with their feet and fists, leaving him unconscious in the street until he was discovered by a passerby, according to Lacy.
Patterson allegedly went through Lew’s pockets, took his keys, and stole his car.
Later the same day, Patterson used Lew’s credit card to make purchases at a gas station and Riverside Mall, Lacy said. The first transaction was captured on video, and mall security footage showed Patterson parking Lew’s car before the second purchase. Detectives also found Patterson’s palm print inside Lew’s car after it was recovered.
“In the same night, within less than two hours of each other, he hijacked two separate people’s cars while he’s on bond for possessing a stolen motor vehicle,” Lacy alleged Saturday.
Judge Maryam Ahmad ordered Patterson held without bail on the new charges and for violating the terms of bail in the pending stolen motor vehicle case.
Prosecutors charged him with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated vehicular hijacking of a handicapped person, vehicular hijacking, aggravated battery of a person over the age of 60, aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, robbery, and unauthorized use of a credit card.
Patterson was also one of three adults arrested when a large group of people overtook the intersection of North Avenue and Clark Street in Old Town on May 11.
The “not horrible” series
This report continues our coverage of individuals accused of killing, shooting, or trying to kill or shoot others while on bond for a pending felony case. CWBChicago began our series of reports in November 2019 after Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans publicly stated, “we haven’t had any horrible incidents occur” under the court’s bond reform initiative.
The actual number of murders and shootings committed by people on felony bail is undoubtedly much higher than the numbers seen here. Since 2017, CPD has brought charges in less than 5% of non-fatal shootings and 33% of murders, according to the city’s data.
