COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A man kindly came to the aid of a Red Line rider trying to figure out a Ventra machine at the Addison Street station, but then robbed him, prosecutors said.
As if adjusting to the new Ventra card system weren't trying enough, a 29-year-old man was fooled by the helpful stranger at 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning, prosecutors said.
Timothy Wallace, 52, appeared to be offering assistance to the victim, who was trying to purchase a Ventra train pass, prosecutors said. But when the victim took out his wallet, Wallace allegedly grabbed it and ran.
The man took off after Wallace, and caught up to him briefly, but Wallace escaped on a bicycle, prosecutors said.
Police officers gathered at the nearby 19th District station in preparation for the Chicago Pride Parade witnessed the scene, prosecutors said. They came to the victim's aid and arrested Wallace.
Wallace was ordered held on $10,000 bail by a Cook County judge Monday.
