Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Parolee Goes on Necklace-Stealing Spree Aboard L Trains: Prosecutors

By Erin Meyer | October 3, 2014 8:00am
 Ronnie Romaine got out of prison 10 days before committing his first of three robberies on the CTA Green and Red lines, prosecutors said.
Ronnie Romaine got out of prison 10 days before committing his first of three robberies on the CTA Green and Red lines, prosecutors said.
View Full Caption
Chicago police Department

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A man with a history of robbing people was not out of prison for two weeks before he started helping himself to the jewelry of CTA riders, prosecutors said. 

Ronnie Romaine, 43, of the 4300 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue, is charged in three separate robberies for ripping gold chains off the necks of Red and Green line riders in August, according to court records. 

Romaine, who was released from state prison Aug. 1 after serving time for a theft conviction, went on a gold-chain stealing spree, prosecutors said Thursday.

The Bronzeville man tore a gold chain from the neck of a 53-year-old Green Line rider on Aug. 11, prosecutors said. He ripped of another gold chain with a gold cross from a 65-year-old Green Line rider on Aug. 14. And, of Aug. 20, he snatched another gold chain from a woman on the Red Line, prosecutors said. 

All three of the victims are women, prosecutors said.

Romaine, previously convicted of robbery, armed robbery and theft, was ordered held on $150,000 bail Thursday during a brief court hearing. 

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: