An 18-year-old man committed a string of armed robberies aboard CTA trains last month, then used one of the victims’ phones to order an Uber home, and violently carjacked the driver when they got there. Those are the allegations laid out by prosecutors against Jeremiah Burns, who, along with two 17-year-old boys, allegedly “terrorized” the Blue Line for over a week.
Seven—yes, seven—caseworkers who’ve dealt with Burns identified him from CTA surveillance images, officials said.
Citing “overwhelming” evidence and the fact that Burns was on parole for another robbery at the time of the crime spree, Judge Ankur Srivastava detained the West Sider, saying he “has consistently engaged in acts of violence and has shown a total disregard for the law.”
Prosecutors said the robberies began around 11:48 a.m. on March 12 aboard a Blue Line train at Kedzie. Burns was wearing a mask when he took a 28-year-old woman’s phone while his accomplices beat the victim, a Chicago police report said.
Early the next morning, just before 1 a.m., Burns allegedly robbed a 38-year-old man of his wallet on a Blue Line train near the Western station in Tri-Taylor. He’s also accused of taking a phone from the pocket of a 25-year-old man on the same train car.
Detectives found a piece of surveillance video in which Burns lowered his mask and exposed his face, leading to his identification in those two holdups, the CPD report said.
Burns and the two 17-year-olds allegedly robbed two Whitney Young Magnet High School students on a Blue Line train near Racine around 9:10 p.m. on March 20.
Prosecutors said one of the 17-year-olds had a gun as the crew took a wallet and AirPod case from a 17-year-old boy and a wallet and phone from a 16-year-old girl.
Once again, police said, Burns lowered his face mask before leaving CTA property, giving investigators a clear image of his face.
The same night, the trio struck again near the Western Station. Armed with a gun, one of the 17-year-olds approached a 19-year-old man who was seated on the train and took his wallet while the other juvenile offender took the man’s phone, police said.
Burns allegedly took items from the man’s wallet, threw the billfold back at the victim, and searched him for valuables. He found an AirPods case, which he handed to the gunman, the CPD report stated.
After lowering his mask within range of a CTA surveillance camera, Burns and the 17-year-olds used one of the male Whitney Young student’s phones to order an Uber ride to the 3600 block of West Grenshaw, prosecutors claim. That’s the same block where Burns lived.
When the car arrived at the house next door to Burns’, the three robbers allegedly beat their driver with handguns, knocking out his teeth, and demanded control of his Honda Pilot.
Judge Srivastava said Burns, who had six adjudications for violent crimes as a juvenile, “terrorized CTA Blue Line riders.”
He is charged with four counts of armed robbery, three counts of robbery, and one count of armed vehicular hijacking.
