Chicago — Prosecutors say a man broke into a CTA train station customer service booth and stole the attendant’s purse and laptop while she was making rounds at the Argyle Red Line station.
The CTA worker locked her booth at the Argyle Station, 1118 West Argyle, and made her rounds at about 8:40 a.m. on December 7. Moments later, CTA surveillance cameras recorded the burglary.
A man walked up to the booth, looked around, forced the window open, and climbed in, prosecutor James Konstantopoulos said Monday. The burglar took the attendant’s purse, which contained a Louis Vuitton wallet, and her book bag, which contained a $1,300 laptop, according to Konstantopoulos.
Chicago police investigators sent surveillance images of the burglar to cops around the city, and an officer who works in the Rogers Park (24th) District recognized him as Willie Mcintosh, 20.
The cop was familiar with Mcintosh because they arrested him two days after the burglary on charges of battery at a Rogers Park bank, officials said.
Mcintosh is on first-time gun offender probation, a sentence he was given just 16 days before the burglary, according to Konstantopoulos.
Assistant Public Defender Hannah Gray said Mcintosh is studying finance and playing basketball at Wilbur Wright College. He cooks at a restaurant and serves his community by rebuilding homes and working for an anti-eviction campaign, she said. Mcintosh, a regular churchgoer, is expecting his first child.
Judge Barbara Dawkins set bail for Mcintosh at $5,000, meaning he must pay a $500 bail deposit to get out of jail on the burglary charge.
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