CHICAGO — A Chicago man accused of battering and robbing an 81-year-old man in the Loop went AWOL, cut off his electronic monitoring bracelet, and set it on fire, prosecutors alleged Wednesday.
Tarese Dunmore, 20, is now back in custody and facing an additional felony charge of escape.
Dunmore posted a $2,500 bail deposit to be released on electronic monitoring on March 2, about three weeks after prosecutors charged him with robbery and aggravated battery.
Those charges stem from allegations that he ran up behind an 81-year-old man and grabbed his bag as the victim walked out of a restroom at Target, 1 South State Street.
Prosecutors said the senior struggled with Dunmore, who allegedly shoved the octogenarian to the ground, took his property, and tried to run away.
But Target security officers detained Dunmore and held him until Chicago police arrived. The store’s security cameras recorded it all, officials said.
During his February bail hearing, a prosecutor said Dunmore told arresting officers something to the effect of “all I did was push him.”
Last Tuesday, five weeks after he was placed on electronic monitoring, the Cook County sheriff’s office learned that Dunmore was no longer at the sober living facility where he was required to stay, prosecutors said yesterday.
Investigators tracked his ankle monitor to the area of Roosevelt and Wabash, but they couldn’t find him. The next day, they lost communication with the device.
This week, the sheriff’s investigators contacted Dunmore’s father, who arranged for Dunmore to turn himself in. Once he was back in custody, prosecutors said, Dunmore told the sheriff’s staff that he cut the ankle monitor off with a knife and burned it with his lighter.
His public defender said on Tuesday that Dunmore was “dealing with staff harassment” at the sober living facility.
Dunmore was held without bail for violating bond in the robbery case. Judge Susana Ortiz ordered him to pay an additional $4,000 bail deposit for the electronic monitoring charge.
