When we introduced you to Lindsey Hughes last September, she had just been accused of intentionally striking a bicyclist on the Lakefront Trail in Uptown. Prosecutors didn’t try to keep her detained on the charge and she went home to await trial.
Now, she’s in much hotter water: accused of robbing a man at gunpoint in Logan Square and then fleeing from Chicago cops in a stolen car that they suspect may have been used in a murder that same day.
This time, prosecutors asked to keep her in jail, and Judge Antara Rivera granted the request.
At about 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, a 30-year-old man told cops he was walking in the 2100 block of North Whipple when a silver sedan, possibly a Kia, pulled up. He said a man got out of the car’s passenger door, displayed a gun, and took his property, a police spokesperson said.
The robber returned to the car, which was driven by a woman, and headed south, we reported.
Hours later, around 3 p.m., a Chicago police tactical unit spotted a car “matching the exact description” of a vehicle that was used in a murder that morning, according to a CPD report. The report said it was “a silver Kia Rio containing two city stickers and an I-Pass in the front windshield, damage to the rear driver side door, a bag/cloth covering a damaged rear driver side window, and damage to the rear driver side trim/tire.”
The murder occurred around 11:35 a.m. at Sanford Foods, a minimart at 501 North Laramie.
CPD said at least one person entered the store, pulled a gun, and opened fire on 32-year-old Armontye Alexander. Multiple suspects fled the scene and Alexander, shot in the head and body, died.
The tactical units immediately tried to pull the Rio over. But the driver sped away until they crashed into an unmarked squad car that had its emergency equipment activated.
Prosecutors said Hughes was the driver and the only person in the Rio, which had been reported stolen that morning from the 2600 block of North Avers in Logan Square.
Officials said CPD investigators linked Hughes to that morning’s robbery through surveillance videos and phone GPS data. Hughes “made admissions,” according to prosecutors.
They charged her with armed robbery, two counts of possessing a stolen vehicle, and criminal damage to government property. She is not accused of being involved in Alexander’s murder.
Judge Rivera said part of the reason she decided to keep Hughes in custody was that Hughes was already on pretrial release for a violent offense: the Lakefront Trail incident we told you about in September.
In that case, prosecutors allege Hughes made “several attempts” to hit a 31-year-old man who was riding his bike on the path near Montrose Harbor. She ultimately succeeded by broadsiding the bicyclist and knocking him to the ground, a CPD crash report showed.
Hughes got out of her car and moved toward the cyclist after striking him, the report said. Thinking she was going to attack him again, the victim deployed pepper spray to defend himself, according to the report.
Prosecutors said Hughes drove away from the scene, but police arrested her a short time later in the 4300 block of North Marine Drive. The arresting officers reported that she said something to the effect of, “I ran him over,” as they took her into custody.
The bicyclist, who suffered bruising and cuts on his left arm and right leg, was treated by paramedics at the scene. He declined further medical attention. His bike’s handlebars and front tire were also damaged.
Prosecutors charged her with felony aggravated battery in a public place and misdemeanor counts of reckless driving and leaving the scene. They did not ask Judge David Kelly to detain Hughes during her initial court appearance, so he sent her home to await trial.
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