Chicago police arrested a fifth juvenile Friday in connection with the mob attack and robbery linked to a group that Ald. Scott Waguespack has called the “Lakeview Goons,” bringing the total number of juveniles charged to five, with more arrests expected. Officers took the 15-year-old boy into custody at his private high school in the Roscoe Village neighborhood, according to two sources.
At about 8:45 p.m. on April 4, a 19-year-old man walking home from his job at a Roscoe Village pizzeria was surrounded, beaten, and robbed by a group of high school-age boys on the 3500 block of North Hoyne Avenue. He was nearly home when the group approached him, and though he tried to defend himself, the boys allegedly got away with his cash, phone, and keys. Waguespack called it a “brutal attack.”
Chicago police said the assault involved “at least” ten assailants and was captured on multiple surveillance cameras. Waguespack said the robbery was the “main topic” of a recent community policing meeting, and that the group may also be tied to other similar incidents reported in the area over the last couple of years.
Waguespack told constituents in a recent email that two of the juveniles recently turned themselves in to face charges of robbery and aggravated assault. A 16-year-old boy was detained by a witness and arrested by police immediately after the April 4 attack, and a fourth suspect was charged last month. None of the juveniles, the rest of whom are 15, had been arrested before, the alderman said.
Because all of the accused are juveniles, the public cannot attend their court hearings, Waguespack said, though a community letter may be circulated to show support for the victim. A resident who attended the recent community meeting said they came away with the impression that Chicago police expect to make more arrests in the case.
