A man who helped rob two Red Line passengers of their shoes, cash, and other belongings during an early morning stickup last summer has been sentenced to five years in prison.
George McCray, 19, pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and received the five-year sentence from Judge Arthur Willis, according to court records. McCray also pleaded guilty in a separate case involving possession of a weapon while in jail and was sentenced to four years. Willis ordered the sentence to run concurrently, meaning it will not add time to his prison term.
Prosecutors said McCray and Raekwon Matthews, then 25, targeted two 19-year-old men aboard a Red Line train near the Garfield station at about 3 a.m. on June 27, 2025. Matthews allegedly reached into a satchel and displayed the butt of what appeared to be a handgun while the pair confronted the victims. The men then patted the victims down and took their belongings, prosecutors said.
After the robbery, the victims called 911 and provided descriptions of the offenders. Officers searching the Red Line found McCray and Matthews moving between train cars near 63rd Street and also recovered an airsoft pistol from the train tracks. Prosecutors said both men were carrying property belonging to the victims when they were taken into custody.
The stolen property included both victims’ shoes, $100 in cash, AirPods, a wallet, Beats headphones, keys, and backpacks.
McCray’s sentence will be reduced by 50% with good behavior and, with credit for time spent in jail, he is expected to be released in November 2027. Matthews resolved his case earlier this year by pleading guilty to aggravated robbery in exchange for a four-year sentence from Willis. He is expected to be paroled next June.
