COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Prosecutors said two men jumped a Morgan Park panhandler Monday — only to return to the crime scene minutes later because one of the attackers had dropped his phone.
Ricardo Cannon, 38, and Derrick Cooper, 52, were carrying $36 cash and a Kyocera cell phone when police arrested them about 7:30 a.m. Monday, court records show.
The duo had jumped out of a car near 112th Street and Hamlet Avenue, then proceeded to punch and kick a panhandler, Assistant State's Attorney Erin Antonietti said during a bond hearing Tuesday.
Cannon and Cooper demanded money from the victim, a 53-year-old Morgan Park man, according to an arrest report. As Cooper pocketed the cash, Antonietti said, he dropped his cell phone on the ground.
The men drove off in their white 2000 Oldsmobile, only to return a few minutes later and demand the victim give back Cooper's phone, police and prosecutors said. They allegedly kicked and punched the victim again.
Police arrested Cooper and Cannon a half-mile away in the 1700 block of West Monterey Avenue. When the pair exited the car, Cooper tried to swing at police, an arrest report said.
Cooper, of suburban Riverdale, was charged with robbery and simple assault. Cannon, of suburban Dolton, was charged with robbery.
Cook County Judge Donald Panarese Jr. ordered each man held in lieu of $100,000 bail.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
