COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Two more people have been charged with ransacking a 7-Eleven and brutally beating a CTA passenger with a hammer earlier this month.
The passenger, a 28-year-old FedEx employee, was riding a Blue Line train to work about 1:30 a.m. Feb. 10 when roughly 10 young people began to beat him with yellow sticks and a hammer, prosecutors said.
The man's eye socket was broken and he might suffer permanent vision loss, Assistant State's Attorney Erin Antonietti said during a bond hearing Thursday.
Six people, including two juveniles, were charged last week.
Two additional men — Dion Benson, 19, and Holsie Grayson, 28 — now face aggravated battery and armed robbery charges in the Feb. 9-10 attacks.
It all began about 11:45 p.m. Feb. 9 when roughly 10 people entered a 7-Eleven at 801 S. State St., prosecutors said.
One member of the group tried to distract the 25-year-old store clerk by dancing, prosecutors said, while his accomplices stuffed food and other items into their pockets and bags. Benson is accused of stealing beef jerky.
When the clerk tried to stop the group, at least one person hit the man in his head and face, Antonietti said. The group then threw trash and various items — including bananas — around the store before running away, she added.
The entire incident was captured on 7-Eleven surveillance footage.
Clockwise from top left: Allen McDowell, Deashley Woodard, Emmanuel Hunter and Na Eem Hoskins. Photo: Chicago Police Department
About two hours later, the group boarded a CTA Blue Line train. There was only one other passenger on the train, Antonietti said: a 28-year-old man on his way to work at FedEx in suburban Rosemont.
The man thought the group was "acting belligerent," Antonietti noted. When several people stepped on his feet, the man asked them to watch where they were going, she said.
An altercation ensued, and the man tried to get away from the group by heading into another train car as the "L" passed through the 800 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, prosecutors said.
The group followed the victim — hitting and kicking him before "pouncing" on him with yellow sticks they had brought on the train and a hammer one woman pulled out of her purse, Antonietti said.
The man eventually blacked out, and when he awoke, his headphones, cellphone and work ID were missing, according to prosecutors.
The entire attack was captured on CTA surveillance footage.
Police were able to arrest six members of the group, including two juveniles, about 2 a.m. Feb. 10 in the 500 block of South State Street after CTA security officers notified nearby beat officers of their presence, court records show.
Since then, two additional men have been arrested and charged in the attacks — bringing the arrest total to eight.
Grayson, of the 2700 block of West Roosevelt Road, appeared before Cook County Judge Peggy Chiampas on Saturday on charges of armed robbery, retail theft, aggravated battery to a transit employee/rider and possession of marijuana. Bail was set at $1 million.
Benson, of the 100 block of East 119th Place, was brought before the same judge Thursday. He is charged with armed robbery, robbery and aggravated battery to a transit employee/rider. Bail in his case was set at $750,000.
The four other adults charged in the case — Na Eem Hoskins, 24; Deashley Woodard, 19,;Emmanuel Hunter, 19; and Allen McDowell, 23 — appeared before Judge Chiampas on Feb. 12. Bail for Hoskins, Woodard and Hunter was set at $1 million, while McDowell's bail was set at $2 million.
McDowell was additionally charged with raping and robbing a man with cerebral palsy in Grant Park on Feb. 2. McDowell was carrying the victim's stolen Ventra card when he was arrested on Feb. 10, prosecutors said.
RELATED: Grant Park Rape of Man With Cerebral Palsy Linked to Downtown Robberies
Two girls, ages 16 and 17, were also charged last week. Additional details were not immediately available.
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