Chicago man admits to committing 5 robberies on the Blue Line in two weeks, prosecutors say

Prosecutors have charged a Chicago man with robbing a passenger on the CTA Blue Line, and they say he has admitted to committing five robberies on the train line since October 22.

Judge Kelly McCarthy ordered Arshawn Gallaway held without bail during a court hearing Sunday afternoon. McCarthy pointed to his admissions as a reason for her bail decision, even though prosecutors have not charged him with the other four robberies.

Around 3:11 p.m. on October 22, a man was riding the Blue Line, and by the time the train reached Cicero, only he and Gallaway remained on the train car, prosecutors said.

Gallaway approached the victim, flashed a handgun from his waistband, and demanded money. Prosecutors said Gallaway changed his mind and ordered the victim to hand over his phone instead.

Gallaway allegedly forced the man to log out of his iCloud account and unlock the device. Both men stepped onto the Cicero platform, and Gallaway again flashed his firearm and threatened to kill the victim if he left the platform, prosecutors said. The victim filed a police report as soon as Gallaway was gone.

Chicago police distributed a CTA bulletin about the robbery that included pictures of the offender. Some officers who received the notice recognized Gallaway. When police arrested him on Friday, he was wearing the same jacket, sweatshirt, and shoes as the man in the bulletin, prosecutors alleged.

Gallaway admitted to taking the victim’s phone and to committing four other robberies since then.

CPD has issued three public community alerts about the robberies since November 2. In the latest bulletin, police linked a suspect, allegedly Gallaway, to three robberies at the Cicero Blue Line station and two at the Pulaski Blue Line station.

Gallaway’s defense attorney said he had recently suffered a gunshot wound.

His felony record includes convictions for unlawful restraint in 2020, robbery in 2019, and aggravated battery of a peace officer in 2019.

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