CHICAGO — Prosecutors say an armed robber fired a gun up to four times on the Roosevelt Red Line platform on Thursday night as he and the victim struggled for control of the weapon. While Chicago police said the man was not hit by gunfire, prosecutors said he received a graze wound to his shoulder.
Lamont Johnson, 22, initially approached the 21-year-old victim to buy pot as they rode the Red Line around 10:50 p.m., prosecutors said during Johnson’s bail hearing Saturday.
The victim agreed to make a deal at first, but changed his mind when Johnson said he didn’t have money to buy it.
When the victim exited at Roosevelt, Johnson stepped in front of him, put a gun to his stomach, and demanded that he give him everything, according to prosecutors. As they struggled over the weapon, both men fell to the platform, and the victim grabbed the gun’s barrel.
During the fight, Johnson fired the gun up to four times, striking the victim once in his right shoulder, according to the allegations.
At a point when the victim was on top of Johnson, an accomplice told Johnson to “finish” the victim and then bit the victim on the back. The victim broke away and ran upstairs to get help from a CTA employee.
A CTA surveillance officer radioed descriptions of the suspects to Chicago police patrol units, and Johnson was arrested about two hours later near Printer’s Row.
Prosecutors said Johnson had a gun in his backpack that was jammed with a spent casing in its chamber.
He is charged with aggravated battery by discharging a firearm and armed robbery with discharge of a firearm.
Johnson’s attorney told Judge Ankur Srivastava on Saturday that Johnson has a two-year-old child and is currently completing his high school education through online classes.
Srivastava granted a state motion to hold Johnson without bail. He also held Johnson without bail on a Will County warrant.
In a media alert issued shortly after the robbery, the Chicago Police Department said the victim suffered a graze wound to his shoulder. The agency later updated its message to say the victim was not struck by gunfire.
