Chicago — Prosecutors say a panhandler robbed a woman at the Damen Blue Line station and then tried to give her some crack cocaine after the crime. Chicago police arrested the accused man, Daryl Russell Jr, at the CTA station.
The 39-year-old woman saw Russell panhandling around 7:40 p.m. Thursday as she waited for a train, prosecutors said. She offered Russell a bag of chips, which he refused, then sat down on a bench.
Russell, 42, allegedly sat next to her, put his hand in his coat as if he had a gun, and said he wanted money. She tried to hand him $5, but Russell declined the offer, saying he wanted a $20 or $50 bill, according to prosecutors.
The woman initially claimed that she only had $5, but fearing that Russell had a gun, she eventually gave him a $50 bill.
After getting the cash, Russell offered the woman some crack cocaine, prosecutors said. She passed on the offer and called 911 to report the robbery. Chicago cops found Russell on a Blue Line train at the station.
Prosecutors said Russell’s felony background includes robbery convictions in 2020 and 2012 and an aggravated battery conviction from 2005.
Judge Maryam Ahmad ordered him to pay a $15,000 bail deposit to get out of jail on electronic monitoring. He is charged with one count of aggravated robbery.
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