Armed robber stayed at crime scene to eat victim’s fried chicken, prosecutors say

Chicago — A Chicago man is facing a bucket of felony charges after allegedly robbing a man at gunpoint and then staying at the scene to eat the victim’s takeout fried chicken.

Chicago police arrived at the robbery scene within minutes and allegedly found James Taylor, 20, still there, enjoying the victim’s delicious fried chicken.

Officials said the victim, 35, parked in front of his home in the 4500 block of South Calumet around 1:30 a.m. Saturday and started to head toward his residence with his piping hot yardbird.

James Taylor (right) | Cook County sheriff’s office

Taylor interrupted him to ask for a light, but the victim said he didn’t have one and kept walking.

Taylor then tapped the man on the shoulder. When the victim turned around, Taylor was pointing a pistol at his face, prosecutor Kenneth Flesch said. The victim handed over his keys, $2 in cash, a debit card, and the fried chicken.

Taylor, according to Flesch, climbed into the victim’s car and went to work on the chicken while the victim dialed 911. Police arrested Taylor a few minutes later.

He is charged with armed robbery with a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle, and illegal possession of a debit card.

Judge Ankur Srivastava ordered Taylor to pay a $15,000 bail deposit to go home on electronic monitoring.

The judge also advised Taylor, who has no criminal background, that he faces a minimum sentence of 21 years in prison if convicted of the armed robbery charge. However, prosecutors routinely offer defendants in similar situations the opportunity to plead guilty to a reduced charge for significantly lighter punishments.

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CWBChicago was created in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had grown disheartened with inaccurate information that was being provided at local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has expanded since then to cover Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side Areas. But our mission remains unchanged: To provide original public safety reporting with better context and greater detail than mainstream media outlets. Our editorial email address is news@cwbchicago.com