CHICAGO — An adult and seven juveniles have been charged with attacking and robbing a group of teenagers on a CTA train in the Loop this week, according to Chicago police and court records. The adult, 19-year-old Jovan Edwards, had been on pretrial release for a pending stolen motor vehicle case for just 19 days when he allegedly participated in the mob attack.
Edwards and his accomplices approached three boys, a 15-year-old and two 16-year-olds, on a Red Line train near Roosevelt around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, police said. One member of the group implied that they had a gun and demanded the victims’ valuables.
Police said the group proceeded to attack the victims.
Edwards robbed one of the 16-year-olds of his belt and then ordered the boy to remove his pants, prosecutors said in a detention petition. After the boy complied, Edwards allegedly whipped the boy with a belt. Prosecutors said that Edwards also punched the victim in the face and body.
The victims exited the train to get help, but the attackers continued riding until they reached the Fullerton stop. Cops who followed signals from one of the victims’ stolen phones were waiting for them when they arrived. Some of the suspects were arrested at the station, while others were located a block away after the police followed a second stolen phone’s GPS signals.
When police arrested Edwards, he had a belt in his pocket along with a phone that belonged to the boy who got whipped, according to a CPD report. Prosecutors said Edwards had also transferred money from the boy’s CashApp account to his own.
Judge Shauna Boliker detained Edwards on charges of robbery and aggravated battery in a public place. CPD said seven of the nine juveniles arrested were charged with robbery, too.
Police and court records show Edwards was arrested on January 9 after cops found him with a stolen SUV at a West Pullman gas station. A CPD report said the car had been stolen two days earlier from a man who left it unattended while it warmed up.
Cops found it at the gas station with three boys, all between 14 and 16, in the back seat. Edwards was inside the station’s convenience store when officers arrived. Police said he told them he had “nothing to do with that car.” However, the businesses’ surveillance video showed that Edwards drove the car to the station, the report said.
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