Federal prosecutors have charged a Chicago man with robbing an armored truck courier in the Loop this week, a daylight heist that ended with him collapsing on a Loop subway platform after being shot by a Brinks security guard.
Dajon Harris, 23, was on felony pretrial release for a stolen vehicle case that was filed against him last month, according to court records.
In a federal complaint filed Friday, the FBI said the Brinks truck pulled up to Saks Off 5th, 6 South State Street, around 11:12 a.m. Surveillance video allegedly showed Harris following the guard into the store.
About five minutes later, the guard began walking back to his armored car with the store’s receipts. That’s when Harris tried to rip a cash bag from the guard’s hands outside the store, the FBI said.
When the guard resisted, Harris allegedly punched him until the courier lost control of the black Brinks bag filled with $6,484.
The guard then drew his weapon and fired three shots, striking Harris as he ran away with the bag, officials said. Surveillance cameras tracked Harris up Madison Street, where he dropped some of the stolen cash, then north on Dearborn toward the CTA station.
Inside the Washington Blue Line stop, cameras captured Harris staggering, bleeding heavily, and finally collapsing on the platform, the complaint said. Chicago police officers who found him applied a tourniquet and called paramedics.
Seven of the eight cash bags inside the courier’s satchel were recovered along Harris’ flight path, and the eighth was found where he collapsed, the FBI said.
Harris, charged with robbery under the Hobbs Act, now faces up to 20 years in prison. The Hobbs Act makes it a crime to commit or try to commit a robbery that affects interstate or foreign commerce “in any way or degree.”
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