Derek Rucker, one of the so-called “Loop Puncher” attackers, is heading to prison after pleading guilty to five felonies before Judge Aleksandra Gillespie on Wednesday. While the charges typically carry sentences of two to five years, Gillespie imposed seven-year terms in each case, citing Rucker’s background. The sentences will run concurrently.
Rucker’s pleas bring a swift end to cases filed just over a month ago.
In one case, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Rucker pleaded guilty to aggravated battery of a transit passenger for attacking a woman on the Loyola Red Line platform. Around 1:15 p.m. on September 30, Rucker approached a 23-year-old woman and made a statement that caused her to step away, prosecutors said. He then raised his right hand, punched her in the back of the head, and sat down on a bench…