COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A Belmont Cragin man was able to escape two robbers Monday night after he punched one of them in the groin, prosecutors said.
The 24-year-old victim had just gotten off the Blue Line and was heading toward a bus when two men stopped him in the 2500 block of North Sawyer Avenue in Logan Square, according to prosecutors.
One of the men, 22-year-old Manuel Lopez, shouted "Do you gangbang?" before approaching the victim, Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said during a bond hearing Tuesday.
The victim said "no" and tried to keep walking, but the second man, 22-year-old Gustavo Alonso, demanded cash and a phone, Scaduto said. The victim handed over his cellphone and debit card.
As Alonso asked for the man's PIN number, the man punched Lopez in the groin and ran away, Scaduto said. He was able to flag down police and give them a description of the robbers, she said.
Officers arrested Lopez and Alonso about 11:40 p.m. Monday in the 3200 block of West Wrightwood Avenue, a few blocks away from the robbery, according to a police report. The victim's debit card was on the sidewalk.
Each man was charged with felony robbery, and Lopez admitted to the crime, prosecutors said.
Lopez, of the 4900 block of West Oakdale Avenue, is currently on probation for a 2014 reckless-conduct conviction. In that case, Scaduto said, Lopez broke his then 4-month-old son's leg. No further details were immediately available.
Cook County Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil on Tuesday ordered Lopez held in lieu of $125,000 bail.
Alonso, of the 800 block of North Springfield Avenue, was held on a $100,000 bail. This is his first offense.
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