A Chicago man is accused of robbing a Red Line passenger last week while on electronic monitoring for robbing another CTA passenger last year. Incredibly, he was on electronic monitoring at the time of last year’s robbery, too.
Shannon Stephens, 23, was arrested following the February 19 robbery of a 16-year-old boy on a Red Line train near Garfield, Chicago police said. He and 20-year-old Markell Harper, of Gary, Indiana, approached the boy while wearing ski masks and hoodies and demanded the victim’s scooter and its key, according to a CPD report. When the victim said he did not have a key and claimed the scooter was dead, Harper reached into his pocket while holding his waist as if he had a gun, the report said.
The boy tried to flee the train at Garfield, but Stephens and Harper allegedly tried to pull him back inside by his jacket. Their efforts failed, and the boy contacted police in the station’s mezzanine. Officers stopped the train at 35th Street and found Harper still aboard with the scooter in his possession, the CPD report said. A witness directed police to Harper, who was exiting the station at 33rd Street, and he was arrested after the victim identified him, according to the report.
Stephens faces one felony count of robbery, two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing a peace officer, and an outstanding warrant. Harper faces one felony count of robbery. Judge Deidre Dyer ordered both men detained.
A pattern of alleged crimes on the Red Line
The February 19 robbery was not Stephens’ first alleged offense while under electronic monitoring nor his first alleged robbery on the Red Line…