Chicago police say the man who hit a CTA passenger in the head with a wine bottle on the Red Line over the weekend robbed another CTA passenger on a train the next day. The wine bottle attack was captured on video that went viral.
CPD Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan announced the charges against Solomon Washington on Thursday afternoon.
Washington is the person who’s seen striking the CTA passenger in the head with the wine bottle on a Red Line train at 95th Street around 2:42 a.m. Saturday, Deenihan said. The victim, a 44-year-old homeless man, was taken to a hospital to treat a head injury.
A second man who was involved in the robbery remains at large.
Washington robbed another CTA passenger on a Red Line train at 95th Street around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Deenihan said. The victim fell asleep on the train, missed his stop, and rode it all the way to the end of the line. There, surveillance video allegedly showed Washington punching the 46-year-old victim in the face and going into his pockets as he slept to take $120 cash, a phone, and a gold medallion.
Initial indications were that a woman was responsible for hitting the first victim with the bottle, but cops in suburban Glenwood recognized the individual as Washington and contacted Chicago police. Deenihan said “many” other people also contacted CPD to identify Washington.
Deenihan said it “was not simple” to secure charges against Washington due to “many factors,” and he praised the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for its help in the case.
Washington, 30, is charged with two counts of robbery, theft from person, and aggravated battery in a public place. He is due in bond court on Friday.
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