total-news-1024x279-1__1_-removebg-preview.png

SELECT LANGUAGE BELOW

Chicago Man Robbed Train Passengers in Anti-LGBTQ+ Hate Crime

A Chicago-area man has been charged with a hate crime after he allegedly yelled anti-LGBTQ+ slurs at passengers on a train before stabbing and robbing them, police said.

Leondes Williams, 36, approached a group of two young men and a woman who were dancing together at the Archer Station on the CTA’s Orange Line just after midnight Saturday and told them, “Your gay asses deserve to get robbed,” CWB Chicago reports. report.

According to police reports, the man then stabbed the 18-year-old man in the head while yelling more expletives and demanded his wallet, according to the outlet.

When the 18-year-old boy refused to hand over his cell phone and wallet, Williams allegedly punched his friend, a 19-year-old man, stole his money and cell phone and fled.

It was unclear whether the man also targeted the woman who was with the two men.

Police were reportedly able to track Williams by tracking the GPS location of one of the stolen phones.

Officers confronted Williams “a short distance from the station” and recovered a mobile phone and a knife.

The victims were convinced he was their attacker and refused offers to take them to hospital for treatment.

Williams was subsequently charged with two counts of armed robbery, two counts of hate crimes, two counts of aggravated assault in a public place, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault on a police officer.

According to court records obtained by CWB Chicago, Williams was already facing a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from a March 12 incident where he allegedly threatened a woman with a knife at a school in Cicero, Illinois.

According to reports, after the defendant failed to appear for trial in June in the case, the judge instructed the defendant’s clerk to mail a reminder to appear in court instead of issuing an arrest warrant.

This time Judge Lindsay Hughes remanded Williams in custody until trial.

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Telegram
WhatsApp